Digimon AdventureTamers Crossover
by JGoblin
Summary: The ultimate crossover! It will take the Digidestined of two worlds to defeat Devimon. A sequel to Evil's Return.
1. Evil Rising

Rika looked calmly at the towering behemoth whose massive frame completely blocked the sun behind it. Most young girls would have run screaming from the sight of a giant, blue, horned dinosaur. Rika, however, simply stared calmly up at it as she casually brushed back a strand of her red hair, which had been disheveled by the heavy gusts of the creature's breathing. For several long moments she and the monster stared at each other. Then, Rika slowly raised her left hand and snapped her fingers. 

For a moment the creature's eyes narrowed and then there was a blur of yellow and the giant was on his back. Standing atop its chest was a lithe figure covered in yellow fur. Its head resembled that of a fox. Its arms were covered by long purple gloves. The short fur on its stomach and feet was pure white. The blue giant stared in amazement at the comparatively small figure which had so easily knocked it over. The yellow fox looked back with narrowed eyes. With a bellow the giant scrambled to its feet. The smaller creature leapt off and landed nimbly a few feet away. Rika looked down at a small device in her hand which was displaying a small holographic version of the giant creature. 

"Veedramon. Champion level. Big and strong but not very smart. Its attack is V Breath Arrow." Placing the device in her pocket, Rika addressed the smaller fox-like creature. "Renamon, walk all over him." 

Renamon leapt into the air and landed feet first on Veedramon's head. Veedramon roared and swung a clawed fist at Renamon who was already out of reach. A flying kick to its chest sent Veedramon sprawling. It got up again and this time a spear of blue energy flew from its mouth. "V Breath Arrow!" Renamon leapt straight up as the ground beneath her exploded. 

At the height of her leap she seemed to freeze in mid-air. Renamon crossed her arms and then flung them outward towards Veedramon. A hail of jagged fragments of light shot at Veedramon. "Diamond Storm!" The attack hit Veedramon and he roared as the sharp bits of light cut into his skin. In a blind fury he charged at Rika who stood her ground as Renamon launched a kick into his ribs sending him down yet again. 

Rika yawned. "This is getting boring. Finish it Renamon." Renamon flew at the disoriented Veedramon who couldn't put up much of a defense as a flurry of kicks and punches seemed to come at him from all directions. 

With her opponent dazed and reeling, Renamon unleashed one final attack. "Diamond Storm!" This time the glowing shards tore Veedramon apart causing his body to evaporate into a cloud of quickly fading blue particles. Renamon closed her eyes as she absorbed the particles into herself. 

As the absorption was completed Renamon turned to Rika who had a smile of smug satisfaction on her face. "Next time I expect you to be faster." Renamon nodded and faded out of sight. Rika removed a set of headphones from a pouch at her hip and placed them over her head as she strolled casually away.

Quite a ways from the site of Rika and Renamon's victory was a large apartment building. In a bedroom on the top floor sat a young boy about Rika's age. He had jet-black hair which was slicked back. He wore a black t-shirt and black jeans. He sat cross-legged on the floor of his room studying a flat rectangular object in his hand. On one side the words "Digimon Card Game" was emblazoned. The other side, the one the boy was looking at, held an illustration of a creature vaguely resembling a man wrapped in black leather. Its arms were far too long and ended in long pointed talons. A black mask covered its face and only the lower part of his face was uncovered. The uncovered skin was stark white and clung to the bones giving it a skeletal appearance. Two cruel curved horns sprouted from either side of his head . A pair of ragged leathery wings grew from his back. The eyes behind his mask were blood red and seemed to glow through the cardboard they were printed on. Across the top of the card was the word Devimon. Below the picture were various numbers and stats. 

As he stared at the card, the boy began to speak. "You want me to be your tamer? Why should I?" There was a pause as he seemed to listen to a response that only he could hear. "All right. But you'll have to do exactly as I say." Another pause and the boy smiled cruelly. "What should I do?" After a moment he picked up a small computer device next to him. After a moment's hesitation he placed the Devimon card into a slot on the side of the device and slowly swiped it downward. For a moment nothing happened and then there was a flash of light from the screen as the device morphed into a replica of the digi-vice which Rika had held. But where Rika's had been silver and blue, this one was black. The card flew from the boy's hand, hovered in the air for a moment and then disappeared. The boy peered at the screen of his newly transformed digi-vice. A digitized picture of a black egg slowly pulsed in front of him. The boy smiled again and somewhere a cruel laugh echoed for a long time.

__

Di Di Di...

Di Di Di...

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Change into digital champions, to save and defend the world!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Digivolve into champions! Digi-Modify!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon!

Digimon Tamers

Evil Rising 

It was Saturday and Rika was lying on her bed. Every few moments she would glance anxiously at the digivice on the table nest to her. She was hoping that it would announce the arrival of another wild digimon in the city but so far it had been quiet all day. She jumped off the bed and paced around the room. She glanced at the digivice again as a knock sounded on her closed bedroom door. 

"Rika, honey?" The voice of Rika's mother came through the door. 

Rika sighed before answering. "What?" 

"I was just wondering if you were going to that digimon card tournament in the mall." 

Refusing to open the door Rika impatiently replied. "No Mother. I don't play that stupid game anymore." Rika had once been a master of the Digimon card game. She had abandoned that particular hobby when she discovered that there were real digimon in the world. After battling the real thing, the game seemed hardly worth her time anymore. 

"Too bad.", her mom replied walking away. "You used to really enjoy those games." 

Rika sat back on her bed and stared at her digivice. After a moment she got up, clipped the digivice to her belt, grabbed a pouch of cards from her desk, and ran out the door.

The tournament had been easy to say the least. Rika had beaten every challenger, most with only one or two turns. She had thought that perhaps dominating the tournament would provide some amusement. She had been wrong. It was too easy. There was no challenge in beating a bunch of kids. And there was certainly no glory. The pile of winner chips she had collected were meaningless. As another young girl approached her table, Rika pushed her cards back into their pouch and got up to leave. "Leaving so soon?" The velvety voice took her by surprise. She turned to see a boy her age standing at the other side of her table. He was dressed in black and his hair was slicked back. "I haven't been able to find any worthy opponents here. But you look like you might provide at least a small challenge." 

Rika glared at the boy's nerve. She considered simply turning away and leaving but she decided she might enjoy crushing his ego even if the victory itself held no appeal. As she turned to sit back down the boy smiled. "That's the spirit. My name's Jack by the way." Rika did not offer her own name. She simply removed her cards and prepared her usual opening move. Twenty minutes later, Rika was still engaged in the match. It had dawned on her very quickly that this kid was almost as good as she. He countered every card she played and had even made the first steps towards outmaneuvering her. Her attention was now focused completely on the game. She considered the cards in her hand carefully. A wrong move would give him the win and that was not something she was about to let happen. After a moment of careful selection she prepared to put her next card on the table. That was when she heard the scream. 

The next moment all hell broke loose. Screaming shoppers of all ages flooded towards the exits. Rika headed in the direction everyone was running from. Her digivice had already began to glow. As she reached the source of the pandemonium she looked at the digivice as it collected data on the beast tearing apart the food court. It was huge and looked very much like a giant lion with a pair of long sharp fangs protruding from its mouth. 

"Saberleomon. A mega digimon with a dangerous howling crusher attack." Rika glanced behind her to see that Renamon had already appeared there. "Ready?", Rika asked. 

Renamon hesitated. "Rika I'm not sure if..." 

"Get in there." 

Renamon didn't move. "Rika, this is a mega digimon. I don't know if I'm strong enough to..." 

Rika cut her off. "You'll be as strong as I want you to be! Now let's go." Rika pulled a card out of her pouch and slid it through the slot in her digivice. The device glowed for a moment and the card transferred its data to Renamon. 

"Digi-modify! Speed activate!" Rika quickly pulled out another card. 

"Digi-modify! Power activate!" 

Renamon glowed lightly from the power increase given her by the cards. 

"Now let's go." 

Renamon sighed and then leapt towards Saberleomon. The giant beast digimon noticed the smaller form coming at him at swung a massive claw. Renamon ducked under the claw and ran behind Saberleomon faster than his eyes could follow. She then leapt up and came down with a kick in the center of his back. Saberleomon barely grunted but he did buck his back up violently forcing Renamon to jump away. In midair Renamon released a swarm of light fragments. "Diamond Storm!" The attack hit dead on but Saberleomon shrugged it off. Renamon landed in a crouch and vaulted back up as a massive claw tore up the ground where she had been standing. 

Renamon glanced back at Rika who was standing with her arms folded. "Rika! He's too strong! We have to..." 

"You're right. He is strong. So you'll be stronger!" 

"Rika..." 

"You're going to win. There are no other options." Rika pulled out another card and prepared to swipe it through her digivice. She failed to notice the arrival of another digimon. This one was small and white with a large round head and wing-like ears. He had big round eyes and a small, red, triangular crystal on his forehead. His name was Calumon. He had been drawn to the sounds of the fight hoping to find a bit of fun. Rather, he had discovered a very scary digimon fighting Renamon who seemed to be having a disagreement with the angry girl named Rika. 

As Rika slashed the card through her digivice, Calumon's crystal began to glow. "Uh-oh" 

"Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"

Rika's digivice flashed with bright white light as Renamon began to glow. "D.I.G.I.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N." 

"Renamon digivolve to...!" Renamon's skin peeled away to reveal a blue wire-frame underneath. As her body began to change a new skin grew over her. She now stood on all four legs. Her head was even more fox-like. Her tail had become nine tails, each with a blue flame at the end. A silver mane surrounded her head and blue flames encircled her feet. A red and white striped ribbon billowed around her neck. "Kyubimon!"

Henry Lee had been helping his mother shop for groceries when the pandemonium broke out. As the screams and stampede of people had washed over them, Henry and his mom had been separated. For a moment he had frantically searched for her before realizing it was a wasted effort. Instead he made his own way towards an exit and began running for the family station wagon in the parking lot. Henry didn't know exactly what was happening but he had a good idea. The fact that his own digivice had begun to glow confirmed his suspicions. When he reached the car and looked back at the mall Henry saw that the entire building had been enveloped by a thick white fog. "A digital field.", Henry murmured to himself. 

He turned back to the car to see a white, dog-like creature with big ears and a green bandana around his neck looking anxiously at him from inside. Henry's mom often commented that he was too old to be taking a stuffed animal with him everywhere he went. Henry imagined it was better for her to think he had an unhealthy attachment to a plush toy than to know that the "toy" was actually a living creature named Terriermon. Henry opened the car door and Terriermon jumped onto his shoulder wrapping a large ear around his neck for balance. "What's in there Terriermon?" 

"I dunno, but it's big and mean." 

Henry sighed. Unlike Rika, he did not crave battle. He had no real desire to make Terriermon any stronger and he certainly took no pleasure in the defeat or death of other digimon. But, as recent events had shown him, sometimes a battle was inevitable. And whatever digimon was in there was a threat that needed to be neutralized. Henry took off towards the mall with Terriermon in tow. "Remember, we're not looking for a fight. Maybe we can find a way to send whatever it is back to the digital world peacefully." 

Terriermon nodded but he secretly doubted it. From the sounds of battle coming from the other end of the mall, this digimon was definitely looking for a fight. While, Terriermon did not share Henry pacifist nature, he had no desire to hurt another digimon if he didn't have to. 

As they rounded a corner, Henry and Terriermon got their first look at the battle. The section of the mall was already in ruins. Broken glass and rubble from damaged walls and ceilings was strewn everywhere. It came as no surprise to Henry that Rika and her digimon were in the middle of it all. It seemed that lately, wherever there was trouble Rika couldn't be far behind. 

Henry studied his digivice. "A mega digimon! Is she nuts? There's no way that Kyubimon could take that thing!" 

Terriermon had jumped to the floor and was prepared to enter the fight. "Want me to get in there Henry?" 

"At this point I think that Rika's insured we'll never get him to leave peacefully. But we're no more of a match for Saberleomon than they are." 

"Maybe if Kyubimon and I worked together..." 

Henry shook his head. "Two champions still wouldn't be enough to stop a mega. If only Rika hadn't tried to fight that thing. Eventually the digital field would have faded away and took Saberleomon with it. Now there's no way it will let us leave." 

"Hi guys." 

Henry looked down to Calumon smiling up at him. "Calumon. What are you doing here?" 

The small digimon blinked. "Well, I was looking for someone to play with and I saw all the children in here. Then there was a lot of screaming and those guys started fighting." 

"Uh Henry, I think we'd better do something." Terriermon drew Henry's attention back to the fight. Kyubimon was pinned under a pile of fallen debris and Saberleomon was now advancing on Rika. 

"Shit!", Henry cried. "Terriermon! Help her!"

Rika drew back in fear as the huge digimon stalked towards her. She knew that Renamon would never allow any harm to come to her tamer, but Renamon was in no shape to help at the moment. Rika eyes went wide as a razor claw descended towards her. Something hit her hard and her feet left the ground for a moment. She hit the ground hard and opened her eyes to see that Henry had tackled her out of the way. Saberleomon now turned towards both of them and prepared to strike again. 

"Bunny Blast!" A bolt of green energy hit Saberleomon right between the eyes. He turned with a roar to see the source of the attack, Terriermon, standing defiantly, glaring at him. "Come on you big bully!", he taunted. Saberleomon charged at him. "Um, Henry!" 

Time seemed to freeze as Henry pulled a card from his pocket and ran it through his digivice. Calumon's crystal began to glow again. "Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"

"D.I.G.I.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N." 

"Terriermon digivolve to...!" Terriermon's body stripped to its wire frame form and began to morph. His new form was larger and bulkier. He wore a pair of blue jeans and a bandolier across his chest. His arms ended at the elbows and became a pair of gattling guns. The top half of his face was green making it appear that he was wearing a mask. "Gargomon!" 

Rather than dodging away from Saberleomon's charge, Gargomon pointed his arm guns straight at him and opened fire. "Gargo Laser!" The laser bolts sprayed across Saberleomon's face forcing him to close his eyes. Gargomon changed his target and blew away a section of the floor in front of Saberleomon causing him to stumble and fall. "Gargomon! Help Kyubimon! We'll need her help!", Henry called. 

"Excuse me?!", Rika said. "Whose fight do you think this is?" 

Henry turned on Rika in anger. "I didn't want any part of this fight! But if Terriermon and I hadn't gotten involved you'd be dead right now!" 

Rika sniffed. "I can handle myself." 

"That's not what it looked like a minute ago." 

Rika turned away. "Whatever. Just remember, his data's mine." 

Henry shook his head in amazement. Now that Gargomon had blasted the rubble off of Kyubimon she was eager to get some payback. Saberleomon had recovered and was charging the two digimon. 

"Fox Tail Inferno!" Blue fireballs flew from Kyubimon's tails and peppered Saberleomon. He growled but showed no sign of experiencing any pain. Kyubimon vaulted over a claw swipe as Gargomon soared overhead raining down laser fire. As she hit the ground, Kyubimon released another swarm of fireballs. Saberleomon shook off the attacks and narrowly missed cutting Gargomon in half with his claws. 

From the sidelines Henry was beginning to panic. "They'll never win this fight! We have to do something!" 

"I am doing something.", Rika replied. She pulled a card and swiped it through her digivice! "Digi-modify! Metalgarurumon's Ice Wolf Bite!" 

The form of a metallic wolf appeared faintly around Kyubimon as a barrage of missiles flew from her body. "Ice Wolf Bite!" The missiles exploded against Saberleomon covering him in a layer of ice. For a moment the massive digimon was trapped but then the ice sheath began to crack. 

"Hurry up and hit him with something!", Rika snapped to Henry. 

Henry lowered his head. "We have to end this.", he said softly. "Gargomon, do it." 

The ice shattered and Saberleomon reared up with a roar. The noise was cut off as Gargomon jammed one of his guns into Saberleomon's mouth. Saberleomon's eyes went wide. "Gargo Laser!" The gun spit lasers into Saberleomon. The attack continued until Saberleomon pulled back and collapsed in pain. 

Rika stepped forward. "Finish it Kyubimon." Kyubimon prepared to attack. "Wait!", Henry cried! "He's beaten! You don't have to kill him!" 

Rika narrowed her eyes. "Grow up. This is how it works. Kyubimon, do it." "No! Gargomon stop her!" Gargomon moved to block Kyubimon. 

"Stay out of my way.", Rika growled. 

Henry didn't move. "Don't let her near him Gargomon." 

The standoff was broken up by Saberleomon's roar of pain. Both humans and digimon looked at the cause. A small round creature with bat-like wings, covered in black hair, and wearing a stitched up leather mask had sunk its fangs into Saberleomon's neck. With another roar, Saberleomon collapsed again and this time his body disintegrated into a cloud of particles which the nasty little digimon quickly absorbed. "No!", Henry cried. 

"Hey! He was mine!", yelled Rika charging forward. 

"Sorry. But she who hesitates is lost." Rika and Henry spun to see Jack standing smugly behind them. "Good work Demidevimon.", he smirked as the little black digimon flew across the room to settle on his shoulder. 

Henry and Rika gaped. "You're a tamer?", Henry cried. 

"Soon to be the most powerful Tamer ever." Jack turned to leave. "I'll see you later Rika. Thanks for the game." 

"Who the hell does he think he is?!", Rika yelled. Renamon stood behind her. "Let's go Renamon." Rika stomped away as Renamon faded from sight. 

Henry turned to his digimon. "C'mon Gargomon. We better get out of here before we have to answer any questions." The two quickly slipped away. 

Jack and Demidevimon watched from the shadows. "The data from that mega digimon gave me a valuable boost in power. How nice of those foolish tamers to weaken him for me. A few more like that and I will be able to digivolve. And then..." Demidevimon began to laugh . Jack narrowed his eyes and smiled.

* * *

The next Monday at school, Henry was describing the events at the mall to his friend Takato. Like Henry and Rika, Takato was a digimon tamer. Takato had only been partnered with his digimon a few months ago, but he was learning quickly. 

"A mega level digimon?!", Takato cried. "Wow! I wish I'd been there." "Believe me. There was nothing fun about this. Rika was nearly killed. If Terriermon and I hadn't been there..." He stopped short when he noticed a girl named Jeri from Takato's class standing nearby listening. 

"Talking about your digimon game again?", Jeri asked with a smile. 

Takato blinked and ran a hand through his hair. "Uh, yeah! Just talking about a game. You know how we guys are. Always talking about something. Heh." Takato managed a weak laugh. Henry just rolled his eyes. Jeri walked away giggling. 

"We ought to be more careful talking about stuff like that.", Henry remarked. "Yeah. The last thing I need is Jeri knowing I've got a real digimon hidden in the park." 

"What's with her anyway?" Henry nodded towards Jeri who now seemed to be having a lively discussion with a hand puppet. 

"Beats me. She's always been a little weird." 

"Cute though.", Henry said. 

Takato laughed weakly again. "I hadn't noticed." 

That evening Takato walked along an isolated path in the park. He carried a shopping bah full of rolls of various shapes and sizes. At a certain point he turned off the path and walked a short distance through the trees until he came to an old brick structure built against a small hill surrounded by a rotting metal fence and gate. Pushing the gate open, Takato walked into the structure. The back wall was collapsed and the earth behind it had been burrowed away to create a short tunnel. Takato set the bag down and whistled. A pair of yellow eyes appeared from the shadows in the dug out tunnel. A moment later a creature resembling a small red dinosaur leapt out of the shadows and enveloped Takato in a hug. 

"Takatomon!" 

"Hey Guilmon!" 

Guilmon stooped to sniff at the bag Takato had brought. "Bread?", he asked, starting to salivate. 

"Yep! It's a good thing Mom and Dad don't mind me taking the bread that didn't sell at the end of the day. Takato's parents owned a bakery and unknowingly provided the majority of Guilmon's sustenance. They weren't quite sure why he took an armload of bread with him every night since he obviously wasn't eating it himself. Takato's father believed he was hiding a pet dog somewhere, but his mother was not so sure, especially since she had never heard of a dog that ate nothing but bread. As Guilmon joyfully devoured the rolls, Takato rifled through the deck of cards he carried in his pocket. Before meeting Guilmon, the digimon card game had been Takato's favorite pass-time. After being partnered with an actual digimon Takato had learned that the cards used in the game could give be used to give his digimon certain powers in battle. "Henry and Rika met a new tamer this weekend.", Takato told Guilmon. Guilmon looked from his meal. "Oh boy. A new friend for us." 

"I don't know. He didn't sound very friendly. Kind of a jerk actually." 

"Like Rika?" 

Takato smiled. "Naw. Rika's kind of obsessed but she isn't evil. Henry said there was something ominous about this guy." 

Guilmon gulped down the last of the bread. "Will we have to fight him?" 

"I dunno. If we did I don't think he could give us much trouble. All he's got is a Demidevimon." 

Guilmon blinked. "What's that?" 

Takato shuffled through his cards and pulled out a Demidevimon card. 

Guilmon examined the card and laughed. "He's tiny!" 

"Yeah, but he was strong enough to finish off a mega level digimon, after Gargomon and Kyubimon had already weakened it." 

Guilmon suddenly tensed and swung his head to look at something past the entrance of the building. Takato strained to see into the dark but couldn't make out anything. 

A voice suddenly came out of the shadows. "So you're the other Tamer I've heard about." Jack stepped into the light. Demidevimon was perched on his shoulder. "I'd hoped for a battle, but your little rookie digimon is hardly worth the effort. 

Takato clenched his fist. "At least he can fight his own battles!" 

Jack smirked. "And why should we have wasted time and energy fighting Saberleomon when we could just sit back and let those fools do the work for us?" 

"I guess you don't have a problem with cheating?", Takato said. 

"Cheating? This is no game. Perhaps I ought to show you how serious I am." Jack stepped forward and Guilmon growled and bared his teeth. Demidevimon hissed as his fangs grew. 

"What's going on here?" All four turned to see Henry and Terriermon standing at the entrance of the shed. 

Jack smiled. "Just teaching your little friend the ways of life." 

Henry scowled. "I don't think he has anything to learn from you." Terriermon growled softly as he looked at Demidevimon and Henry slowly reached into his pocket for a card. 

"Another time." Jack turned and walked slowly out. As Jack disappeared into the shadows outside Takato let out a sigh of relief. 

"Thanks for the help Henry. I didn't think you'd pick a pick a fight with him like that." 

"He was the one who picked a fight. I was just sticking up for a friend." 

"Too bad he backed down.", Terriermon said. "I was looking forward to kicking his butt!" 

"Yeah, me too.", Guilmon said as he flexed his arms. Takato laughed and patted his partner's head. 

"There's something off about that guy.", Henry commented as he and Takato walked home a while later. 

"Yeah, creepy.", Takato replied. "We'll have to keep an eye on him." A few minutes later Takato reached his parents' bakery which had their apartment overhead. He waved to Henry and walked inside. Henry and Terriermon continued on their way. Neither noticed Jack and Demidevimon step out of a shadowed alley as they walked away. 

"I still don't think they're worth our time.", Jack said quietly to Demidevimon. "I'll decide who and what is worth our time. The girl's Renamon has already absorbed a considerable amount of data. The Terriermon has been strengthened under a skilled trainer even if he is rarely allowed to fight. And I sensed a great power in that other boy's digimon. I could not identify it but there is something special about him. Once I have enough power to digivolve, I will enjoy adding their data to my own."

* * * 

The next day after school Takato and Henry met in the park. While the humans sat under a tree doing their homework, Guilmon and Terriermon wrestled playfully nearby. Takato was trying to do a particularly difficult math problem when the paper was snatched away from him. He looked up in surprise to see Calumon holding the paper, trying to make sense of his equations and numbers. 

"This game looks complicated.", he said turning the paper upside-down. 

"It's not a game.", Takato said gently taking the paper back. "It's homework. And if I don't finish it I'm going to be in big trouble." 

"Can I help?" Calumon grabbed the paper again. 

"Hey! C'mon give that back!" Takato reached for his paper but Calumon jumped out of his reach. He tried again but the little digimon jumped up on top of his head. Takato sighed and looked up at Calumon who smiled down at him. "Can I please have my homework back?", he asked. 

"Nope!" Calumon jumped down and took off into the trees. 

"Hey!" Takato ran after him. Henry chuckled and looked over at the other digimon. Terriermon had placed Guilmon in a headlock using his long and dexterous ears. 

"Play nice guys.", Henry warned with a smile going back to his own homework. Takato emerged a moment later out of breath but clutching a wrinkled sheet of paper in his hand. 

"He's pretty fast considering he's got such little legs.", Takato panted. Without warning Calumon jumped up and grabbed the paper again running back into the trees laughing. "I give up." Takato slumped to the ground. Calumon appeared a moment later having folded the paper into a hat which sat on his head. He jumped onto Takato's head and proceeded to beat a light rhythm on top of it with his paws. Takato just sighed. 

* * *

The next day Takato was trying to pay attention to his teacher as she explained the periodic table of elements. His attempts to copy the notes had degenerated into doodles of various digimon including Guilmon. 

"Takato!" Takato looked up to see the teacher as well as the entire class staring at him. 

"Um, yes?" 

"I asked you what the atomic mass of helium is." Takato frantically scanned the chart on the front board trying to find the correct information. 

The teacher sighed. "If I catch you doodling in class again, you're getting detention for a week." 

"Yes ma'am." 

The momentary distraction over, the rest of the class turned back to the front of the room. Takato looked quickly around the room and noticed that Jeri was still looking in his direction. She waved her finger at him and then turned away in a fit of silent giggles. Takato sighed. "Girls." 

The rest of the class passed uneventfully until there was about five minutes left. That was when a loud beeping caused everyone to look up and try to find the source of the noise. Takato turned bright red as he realized the noise was coming from his digivice. 

"What is that?" The teacher scanned the classroom. 

Takato realized he had to say something as the noise wasn't stopping. "I think it's my, uh, pager.", he said. 

"You have a pager Takato?" 

"Um, yeah. I think my mom is trying to call me. Can I go to the office and call her?" 

"Yes, but hurry." 

With a sigh of relief Takato ran out of the room. As soon as he was in the empty hallway he pulled out the digivice. The beeping continued as the screen displayed a small compass. "There's a digimon nearby.", Takato whispered to himself. For a moment he considered his options. After looking back into the classroom quickly, Takato ran down the hall and out the front door. As he sprinted across the front lawn he hoped that no one had seen him leave. Maybe he could explain this later by saying that his mom had called him because there was an emergency at home. But then the school would probably call home and of course there was the fact that he had never actually gone to the office. It seemed like he was going to get in trouble after all. 

The compass guide on his digivice led him several blocks away from the school into a residential neighborhood. Following the arrow on the screen of his digivice, Takato rounded the side of an apartment complex to see several buildings covered in a thick white fog. 

"Takato." 

Takato turned to see Guilmon standing behind him with a feral look on his face. The presence of a wild digimon always brought out primal instincts in Guilmon. "All right Boy. Let's see what's in there." 

Takato headed cautiously into the fog with Guilmon right behind him. Within the cloud, There were almost no traces of fog. Takato could see that the digital field encompassed three buildings which were built close together. "Where is it Guilmon?" Takato could see no digimon in the immediate area. 

Guilmon sniffed the air for a moment before looking up and growled. Takato followed the direction Guilmon was looking and in a moment he saw something resembling a giant stingray attached to the side of the building farthest from him. He pointed his digivice at the creature and a list of data appeared on the screen. 

"Hmm. Mantaraymon. A champion level aquatic digimon. Its natural environment is the ocean but it can survive anywhere. His attacks are Torpedo Ray and Paralysis Tail. All right Guilmon let's see if we can get his attention." 

Guilmon took a step forward and opened his mouth. A red ball of energy erupted form his jaws and flew towards the digimon on the side of the building! "Pyro Sphere!" "Guilmon wait!" But it was too late. Takato watched as the red ball struck its target releasing a large cloud of smoke. "Guilmon we can't just attack like that. There are people in these buildings and we don't even know if that thing is dangerous!" Guilmon lowered his head. "Sorry Takato." 

"You guys aren't very good at this." Takato glanced down to see Calumon grinning up at him. 

"You better get out of here. This could get dangerous." 

Calumon pouted. "But if I leave I'll miss all the fun!" 

Takato did not have the patience to deal with Calumon at the moment. "Fine, stay. Just don't get in our way." He turned back top the building. The area where Guilmon's attack had hit was still shrouded in a cloud of smoke. Takato watched anxiously as the smoke cleared. The bricks were scorched and cracked but still intact. The digimon was nowhere in sight. "Uh-oh. Where did it go?" Takato looked around frantically while Guilmon tried to catch its scent. 

"Takato?" 

Takato turned to answer Guilmon when a streak of blue slammed into the dinosaur digimon and sent him flying. Takato looked up to see Mantaraymon hovering over them. "Uh...would it help if I said we were sorry?" 

"No." 

With a roar Guilmon charged headfirst into Mantaraymon knocking him away from his Tamer. Mantaraymon whipped up his pointed tail and wrapped it around Guilmon's neck. 

Desperate to help his friend, Takato pulled out a card and slid it into his digivice. "Digi-modify! Togemon's Needle Spray activate!" 

Guilmon instantly gained the power of another digimon's attack. "Needle Spray!" Hundreds of needles erupted from Guilmon's body. Mantaraymon released his grip and howled in pain. Mantaraymon flew towards the nearest building and then right up the side of it. 

"We've got to follow it! C'mon Guilmon!" Takato and Guilmon took off towards the building at a run. Takato reached into his pocket to pull out another card. "Digi-modify! Hyper Wing activate!" Six glowing white wings appeared on Guilmon's back and carried him into the air. Takato grabbed Guilmon's leg and was hoisted up with him. Together the flew up the side of the building. As they reached the rooftop, Guilmon's wings faded. The scanned the area searching for Mantaraymon. 

"I don't see him!", Takato cried. 

"Torpedo Ray!" 

The roof exploded around them. Takato had to duck to avoid being hit by flying chunks of debris. Before he could recover something hit Takato with massive force and propelled him over the edge of the roof. Mantaraymon had tackled him. As he fell, Takato acted on instinct, slashing a card through the digivice which he still clutched in his hand! 

"Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!" 

Down on the ground Calumon fell back as his crystal erupted in a flash of light! "Why does that always happen around these guys?"

"D.I.G.I.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N." 

"Guilmon digivolve to...!" Guilmon's skin tore away until he was nothing but a red wire frame. His body shifted and grew as a new layer of skin formed. He was now nearly a story tall. His arms, legs, and chest rippled with muscles. Black markings resembling war paint covered his face. A pair of horns grew from over his eyes and a mane of silver hair grew on the back of his head. "Growlmon!"

Growlmon leapt off the side of the building! His larger size allowed him to quickly catch up to Takato. He plucked the boy out of the air and held him protectively in his arms. Growlmon struck the ground with the force of a bomb. The concrete shattered under his weight. But his massive body absorbed the impact leaving Takato shaken but unharmed. 

With his tamer safe, Growlmon turned back to the digimon who had been foolish enough to attack the person he cared so much about. Mantaraymon streaked down the side of the building with ever increasing speed. He slammed into Growlmon. But this time, Growlmon stood his ground and used Mantaraymon's momentum to lift him up and throw him backwards. Mantaraymon hit the ground and skidded several yards. 

He recovered quickly and launched a pair of energy bolts from beneath his fins. "Torpedo Ray!" 

"Pyro Blaster!" A gout of flame from Growlmon's mouth engulfed the bolts and detonated them before they were close enough to do any damage. Growlmon charged with a roar. Mantaraymon flew right at him. They collided and grappled with each other. Mantaraymon's tail wrapped around Growlmon's neck and Growlmon's claws dug into Mantaraymon's body. 

Takato and a winded Calumon watched from the sidelines. Takato silently rooted for his partner. With a burst of strength, Growlmon thrust his opponent away. "Dragon Slash!" A large spike grew from Growlmon's left wrist which he swung in an arc, slicing into Mantaraymon's underside. The wounded digimon collapsed in a heap in the ground. His body began to shimmer as he neared death. Growlmon looked questioningly at Takato who shook his head. Growlmon stepped back to allow Mantaraymon's data to discorporate where it would return to wherever he had come from. 

Just as his body vaporized a black shape few into the cloud of data and absorbed it. Takato gasped in shock as he recognized Demidevimon. 

"What did you do that for!?" 

Demidevimon sneered. "Why let good data go to waste?" 

Takato gritted his teeth in anger. "He would have returned to the digital world and reformed but now he's truly dead!" 

"And I am stronger! That is all that matters!" 

"Well said." Jack was standing behind Takato. "What kind of tamer doesn't reap the fruits of his victory?" 

Takato spun and raised a fist! "Being a tamer isn't about killing other digimon!" "And how did your digimon ever digivolve without absorbing data?" 

Takato lowered his eyes. "I let him absorb data from other battles. But that was before I knew that these wild digimon were just as real and alive as Guilmon!" 

Jack strode over to Demidevimon. "You're a fool. They're alive all right. And they exist to provide power for those who are more worthy." 

"More worthy of life?!" 

"Exactly." 

Takato rushed at Jack who easily sidestepped and shoved him to the ground. The digimon and tamer both laughed. 

Takato grunted in pain. "You can't just play games with life." 

"I can do whatever I want. You and your little pet had better stay out of my way or you'll personally see what happens to those who lose to me." 

Jack turned to leave but Takato had had enough! "Growlmon attack!" Growlmon had been waiting for just that command. Calumon gasped and Growlmon charged at Jack with a roar. 

"Let's see how well you do against someone who isn't already beaten!" Demidevimon's wing flashed out and a black dart flew at Growlmon. "Devi Dart!" The dart Struck Growlmon in the chest and he immediately froze. 

"Growlmon!", Takato yelled. 

"I can't move!" 

"Sorry Takato.", Jack sneered. "We don't have the time to waste with you. Maybe next time." Jack and Demidevimon sauntered away. Takato and Growlmon were left standing with looks of fury on their faces.

* * *

Rika leaned idly against a wall in the electronics district of Kyoto. Her eyes were obscured by a pair of sunglasses and she wore a pair of headphones over her ears. For a moment the music in her ears stopped. It was quickly replaced by the voice of her digimon partner. "Rika, we need to talk." 

Rika responded under her breath. "So talk." 

"This new tamer. I sense something unusual about his digimon, something dangerous." 

"How could that little thing be a danger to anyone?" 

"It defeated Growlmon." 

Rika smirked. "That's not saying much." 

"He's stronger than you give him credit for." 

"Please." 

"That isn't the point. He's a threat. We have to do something about him." 

Rika raised an eyebrow. "So you're giving me orders now?" 

Renamon began to sound frustrated. "That's not what I meant." 

"Good. I decide who we fight. And I'll decide who's a threat to us." 

"He may be a threat to everyone." 

"So?" 

"Dammit Rika! It's time you realized that we have a purpose other than meaningless fighting!" 

Rika's eyes widened in anger. She continued to talk under her breath but her tone was harsh. "Your purpose is to win battles and follow my orders." 

"And what happens when you grow bored with battle? Will you discard me like you did your card games?" Rika did not respond. 

"We were brought together for a reason Rika. We can't stand by and allow innocent people to be hurt if we can prevent it." 

"Get real. Jack and that puny digimon of his haven't hurt anyone." 

"But they will! I know it! You must believe me." 

Rika began to walk. "You want to do something, go ahead. Leave me out of it." With that Renamon's voice faded and the music resumed. Rika was alone again. 

Renamon watched from above as Rika walked away. Why couldn't her tamer understand. Renamon allowed Rika to treat her like this way because of how much she cared for her. She wanted Rika to be happy, content. But all the battles didn't make her happy. They only seemed to make her more restless and angry. What did Rika truly want? If only she knew the answer to that question. Whatever was coming, Renamon could not face it alone. She knew that. But Rika seemed unwilling to accept the truth. Unwilling, or unable? Did Rika truly believe that digimon were nothing more than lifeless data? Did she truly have no feelings for anyone but herself? No! That wasn't true. Somewhere inside of Rika was a kind heart to accompany her fighter's spirit. That was why Renamon had been drawn to her in the first place. Rika was searching for something. Something she herself might not even know about. But whatever Rika needed, Renamon needed for them to be together. Not just the two of them, but the other tamers as well. The coming threat would require all of then to work together. But Renamon feared that Rika would not see the truth until it was too late. Whatever happened, Renamon had to follow her heart.

* * *

Takato and Henry had met after school. Takato had detailed his encounter with Jack and Demidevimon. Henry was more worried than ever. "There's more to him than meets the eye. It's like he's deliberately holding back, conserving his strength." 

"What could they be after?", Takato wondered. 

"Whatever it is, I think we need to stop him. We should talk to Rika. We'll probably need her help." 

Terriermon poked his head out of Henry' s backpack. "Well you're in luck! There she is." Henry and Takato looked where Terriermon was pointing. Rika was indeed walking with her head down nearly a block ahead of them. Henry and Takato ran to catch up. 

"Rika!" 

"Hey Rika!" 

They were nearly upon her before she turned around. Her eyes narrowed when she saw them. "What do you want?" 

"We need to talk to you about that Jack guy." 

Rika rolled her eyes. "You too? What is it with you guys? Renamon's convinced he's some kind of super evil or something." 

Henry's eyes widened. "Renamon knows something about him? Where is she?" "Who knows. She went off to confront them or something." 

Takato gasped. "You let her go to fight them alone?! Are you nuts?" 

"They're dangerous Rika! Renamon could be hurt!" 

Rika scowled. "Renamon can take care of herself. Besides, if she wants to go running off on her own, she deserves whatever she gets." 

Takato began to get angry. "Don't you even care about her?! She's your partner!" 

"She's my digimon.", Rika corrected. 

"She's your friend! And she obviously cares about you if she puts up with your crap all the time and doesn't leave!" 

"What do you know?! You have no idea what Renamon and I are!", Rika yelled! Henry cut in. "And what if Renamon dies Rika? Would you care? Would you?" Rika stammered. "She...she won't die. She can't. She's just...data." 

"Enough of this!", Henry cried in disgust. "If you won't help her, we will!" 

With that Henry and Takato took off running. Rika was left staring after them with a strange expression on her face. "Renamon...my friend?"

Renamon stood on the lightning rod which topped one of the highest buildings in the city. her eyes were closed and she was obviously in deep concentration. Renamon possessed a certain level of extra sensory perception. It was how she was able to sense when Rika was in danger and why she could feel the evil of Jack and Demidevimon. Now she was straining those abilities to the maximum trying to locate her targets. Suddenly she sensed something but it wasn't Jack or Demidevimon. She opened her eyes and gazed out over the city. Over a mile away a digital field was forming in the middle of a crowded street. Renamon could hear the honking horns and squealing tires from her position. Then it hit her. Jack and his digimon were moving towards the field. This was her chance to stop them before the could do whatever they were planning. While Renamon did not know what their ultimate goal was, she did know that it would result in an enormous loss of life. But, could she fight Demidevimon without Rika? He was only a rookie like her, but she felt an incredible amount of potential power within him. Making her choice, Renamon leapt to a nearby rooftop and began to make her way to the digital field. Whatever, they were up to, it was obvious that Demidevimon planned to absorb as much data as he could before they made their move. Her first priority was keeping Demidevimon away from the digimon in that field. And then, she had killed before at Rika's command. Was she prepared to do it out of her own choice? Did she even have any other options? 

Within minutes, Renamon was perched on a building overlooking the digital field. People were still running out of the white cloud and Renamon could hear crashes and screams as the digimon inside wreaked havoc. She was here to confront Demidevimon, but she couldn't let that wild digimon harm innocent people. The choice was taken out of her hands when a blast of pure force slammed into her from behind sending her hurtling through the air. Renamon fell downward but the momentum from the blast also propelled her sideways until she crashed through the window on the tenth story of a building. 

She lay still for a moment before painfully opening her eyes. The owner of the office she had crashed into was backed against a wall staring fearfully at her. She tried to stand up but a fire in her chest told her that at least several ribs were broken. Her left arm felt stiff and was probably broken as well. 

"You don't look so good." 

Renamon slowly lifted her head to see Demidevimon hovering in the ruins of the broken window. "I saw you spying and I thought it was time we got to know each other better." 

Renamon struggled to fight the pain and get to her feet. 'What are you? No rookie could have that much power." 

"I don't follow the rules my dear. I make them. I beat you easily enough, but there is still a good deal of power in you. Perhaps absorbing your data will give me the rest of the power I need." 

"You'll never have my data!", Renamon growled fiercely. 

"A rather empty statement considering your current state." Demidevimon smiled showing his fangs. "Don't worry. I'll finish you quickly." 

Henry and Takato had planned on using the built-in digimon scanners in their digivices to find Renamon but the appearance of the digital field and reports of a strange yellow creature flying through the window of an office building had narrowed their search considerably. They now stood at the foot of the building which Renamon had crashed into. They had been joined by Guilmon and Calumon. Far above them they could see the shattered window. 

"What do we do?", Takato asked. 

"We have to get up there and help Renamon!", replied Henry. 

"But what about the digital field?" 

"The people have all gotten out of there and the digimon can't leave the boundaries of the field. If we're lucky the field will just fade away and take him with it." "All right. Let's do it!" Henry and Takato pulled out their digivices and prepared to slash a card through them. 

"You ready guys?", Henry asked Terriermon and Guilmon. Both digimon nodded. 

The cards slashed down! "Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!" No one noticed the glare from Calumon's crystal 

"D.I.G.I.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N." 

"Terriermon digivolve to...Gargomon!" 

"Guilmon digivolve to...Growlmon!" 

Takato and Henry jumped onto the backs of their respective partners! "Okay! Going up!", Takato called. Growlmon leapt straight up. He rose several stories and dug his claws into the side of the building . He quickly continued to scale the remaining distance. 

Gargomon pointed his guns straight down. "Gargo Laser!" The force of the blast propelled him upward with Henry's arms wrapped around his neck. 

They reached the window at the same time and leapt into the room. Demidevimon was preparing to unleash a killing blow on the wounded Renamon. "Bunny Pummel!" Gargomon's arm cannon smashed down onto Demidevimon throwing him to the ground. The smaller digimon bounced right back up completely unharmed. "How could he be so strong?!", Henry cried. 

"Demon Blast!" The same attack that had beaten Renamon blew Gargomon out the remains of the window. 

"No!" Henry ran to the window to see Gargomon, unconscious hit the ground far below. 

"That's impossible! No rookie level digimon could have an attack that strong!" "Let's go Growlmon!" Growlmon charged past Takato extending his arm blades. "Dragon Slash!" Demidevimon dodged out of the way as his wings carried him away faster than Growlmon could move. 

"Behind you!", yelled Takato. Growlmon spun around too late. 

"Demon Blast!" The large dinosaur digimon was thrown through five walls before he came to a stop. 

"Well that was rather embarrassing wasn't it?" Jack had arrived. "Two champion digimon beaten so easily by one rookie. Pathetic." 

Takato drew back his fist and ran at Jack. "I'll show you pathetic!" 

"Devi Dart!" Takato froze, suddenly paralyzed. 

"Finish this one.", Jack said pointing at Renamon who still lay on the floor. "Then we'll get Growlmon." 

"No.", Takato said weakly. 

Demidevimon hovered over Renamon. "Goodbye my dear." 

Fighting the pain, Renamon managed to raise one arm. "D-Diamond Stor.." Hee arm fell and she collapsed. 

Demidevimon smiled. "Demon..." 

"Get the hell away from her!" 

Jack and Demidevimon looked up in surprise to see Rika standing in the remains of the doorway to the ruined office. 

"And what do you plan to do?", Demidevimon asked with a sneer. 

Rika moved quicker than they could react, slashing a card through her digivice. "Digi-Modify! Full Revival activate!" Renamon glowed brightly for a moment and was on her feet in an instant. Her wounds were healed and her strength was restored. "Fool!", Demidevimon shouted. "I'll still..." 

"Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!" Jack and Demidevimon shielded their eyes as the light enveloped Renamon. 

"D.I.G.I.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N." 

"Renamon digivolve to...Kyubimon!" 

"Fox Tail Inferno!" A hail of blue fireballs pelted Demidevimon driving him back "Dragon Wheel!" Kyubimon's body erupted in blue fire which quickly took the form of a dragon around her. She charged at the stunned Demidevimon as her body went into a rapid spin. They collided and the impact threw Demidevimon out the shattered window. He plummeted towards the ground and disappeared into the digital field below. "Now for..." Rika realized that Jack was nowhere in sight. 

With a gasp Takato slumped to the ground as Demidevimon's attack wore off. Henry moved to help him. 

Kyubimon was looking at Rika who was now looking back apprehensively. "You came to help me Rika?" 

Rika looked down and shuffled her feet. "Well, I...yeah. I had to. You're my...friend." 

Kyubimon's face softened as a tear formed in her eye. "Rika. Thank you." Rika had also begun to tear up as she rushed forward to throw her arms around Kyubimon's neck. 

"I'm sorry.", she whispered. Kyubimon glowed faintly and returned to her Renamon form as she returned Rika's hug. Henry was helping Takato to his feet but he glanced at Rika and Kyubimon and a smile formed on his face. 

"T-Takato?" Guilmon staggered through the hole in the office wall which he had crashed through. 

"Guilmon! You're all right!" Takato and Guilmon embraced. 

"I'm sorry I couldn't keep being Growlmon Takato. I wasn't strong enough." "Don't worry about it buddy. I'm just glad you're all right." 

With a gasp Henry ran to the remains of the window and anxiously looked down. "Terriermon! I don't see him! What if he...?" 

"Momentai Henry." 

Henry spun to see Terriermon, looking considerably bruised but otherwise all right, climbing over the edge of the hole Growlmon had left in the wall. Henry ran forward and Terriermon leapt into his arms. "I'm so glad you're all right!" 

Terriermon smiled wrapping his ears around Henry's neck. "It would take more than that stupid bat to finish me off." Henry laughed and hugged his digimon again. The reunion was broken off by an inhuman howl from below. The three humans and digimon looked towards the window in shock. 

"The digital field!", Henry cried. "We forgot about the digimon in there!" "Demidevimon is in there!", Takato said in panic. 

"We have to stop him Rika!", Renamon said already moving towards the window. "Let's go!", Rika yelled grabbing Renamon around the neck as she jumped out the window. Terriermon leapt out after them allowing his wings to spread out acting as a parachute. Henry grabbed Terriermon's feet as they floated downwards. 

Guilmon hesitated for a moment. "Um Takato, can we take the stairs?"

Takato and Guilmon reached the street moments after Rika, Renamon, Henry, and Terriermon got there. Together they ran into the digital field. A few steps behind Calumon followed, happily unaware of the danger. The sight that met them caused them to stop short. Demidevimon hovered over a large, green, insectoid digimon. It was severely wounded and having trouble breathing. Takato's digivice identified the fallen digimon as Snimon. "We have to stop him before..." 

"Demon Blast!" A bolt of green energy from Demidevimon speared Snimon causing him to disintegrate instantly. Calumon whimpered and hid behind Takato's leg. "Get him now!", Rika shouted. The three digimon rushed forward. 

"Diamond Storm!" 

"Bunny Blast!" 

"Pyro Sphere!" 

The attacks flashed towards Demidevimon who simply grinned as they hit him. He barely flinched. The three tamers gasped. 

"You're too late fools. With this digimon's data I at last have the power I need. Now human!" 

Jack grinned and pulled a card from his pocket. His hand hovered for a moment over his black digivice before swiping the card down. 

"No!" Rika had charged forward but she only got one step before being blasted back by a shockwave that exploded outward from the space around Jack and Demidevimon. 

"Digi-modify. Digivolution activate." 

The result was instantaneous. A torrent of black energy enveloped Demidevimon as his body began to pulsate. "Yesssss!", he screamed. The gale that arose prevented and of the tamers or digimon from getting near him. Jack, too, was blown back. "Demidevimon digivolve to...!" Demidevimon's body split open like a cocoon. A form seemingly too large to have fit inside his tiny body began to uncurl. It was humanoid but several feel taller than a normal person. His arms were ridiculously long and each finger ended in a long, sharp claw. His body was wrapped from head to toe in black leather. Only the lower half of his face was visible. The skin there was chalk white. A pair of fangs protruded from bloodless lips. The eyes that could be seen through the leather cowl were blood red. A pair of long, cruel horns grew from his head. A pair of ragged leathery wings unfurled from his back. "Devimon!" 

Jack stared up at Devimon with awe. "At last.", he murmured. Takato, Henry, and Rika stared in horror. Guilmon growled bearing his teeth. Terriermon and Renamon edged forward nervously, shielding their human partners. 

Devimon seemed oblivious to those around him as he examined his new body, flexing his claws and admiring the gaunt muscles of his arms and chest. At last he seemed to notice the others gathered beneath him. With a smile he stared at Jack. "Thank you human. I could not have accomplished this without you. For some reason it is impossible to digivolve in this dimension without the assistance of some fleshling." Jack advanced eagerly. "So glad to help. Now give me the power you promised!" 

Devimon smirked admiring his claws again. "Yes, about that..." With a lightning quick movement, Devimon's arm extended and shot forward. Before anyone realized what had happened, his claws were embedded in Jack's chest. With a groan Jack's eyes rolled up and he slumped forward. Devimon yanked his claws out of the boy's chest letting the body fall to the ground. "I lied." The three other children stared in horror at the body and the pool of blood which was rapidly seeping from underneath it. 

"You killed him!", Takato yelled with a fury which belied his small stature. Devimon simply grinned. "Of course. He was a fool to presume he ever had any power over me." 

"You won't get away with this!", Henry cried! 

"Oh really?" Devimon gave him an amused look. "Please, do your worst little one. I'm afraid none of you could begin to measure up to the digidestined I have faced before." 

"I don't know what you're talking about, but you are going down!" Takato brandished his digivice. Behind him Rika and Henry did the same. "Nail him Guilmon!" "Do it Terriermon." 

"Be careful Renamon." 

Three cards came out. "Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!" Calumon's face set in a look of resolve and his little fists clenched as his crystal erupted in light. "D.I.G.I.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N." 

"Terriermon digivolve to...Gargomon!" 

"Renamon digivolve to...Kyubimon!" 

"Guilmon digivolve to...Growlmon!" 

The three champion digimon advanced on Devimon who hovered calmly several feet above the ground. "Go ahead, amuse me.", he sneered. 

"Fox Tail Inferno!" 

"Gargo Laser!" 

"Pyro Blaster!" 

Devimon shot into the air as the attacks passed harmlessly below him. One arm lengthened and swept towards the digimon. Kyubimon ducked under it but Growlmon was struck in the side of the head. Gargomon charged forward with his arm guns blazing. Devimon stuck out his hand and the barrage of laser fire stopped in midair. With the slightest gesture he sent it flying back at Gargomon who was knocked back by the force of his own attack. 

"We can't just attack him!", Henry cried. 

"Yeah!", Rika agreed. "Let's do this right! Kyubimon attack!" 

Kyubimon leapt into the air towards Devimon. A beat of his wings took him sideways and she sailed past him. With his attention diverted he was caught by surprise as Gargomon's lasers peppered his eyes! With a howl of pain his hands went to his face. "Dragon Slash!" Growlmon's arm spike cut deeply into Devimon's chest. With a roar Devimon spun on Growlmon but didn't see Kyubimon coming from behind him. "Dragon Wheel!" Kyubimon's flaming body hit Devimon in the square of his back sending him flying. He hit the ground and struggled to regain his focus. That was when all three digimon attacked at once. 

"Pyro Blaster!" 

"Gargo Laser!" 

"Fox Tail Inferno!" 

This time the attacks hit home and Devimon screamed in rage and pain. 

"Let's finish him!", Takato yelled! 

"Hit him with our strongest attacks!", Rika agreed. 

Each tamer selected a card and slashed it through their digivice. 

"Digi-modify! Megaseadramon's Thunder Javelin activate!" A massive bolt of lightning struck from Kyubimon to blast Devimon 

"Digi-modify! Andromon's Gattling Attack activate!" A pair of large missiles shot from Gargomon's cannons to detonate against Devimon. "Digi-modify! Omnimon's Supreme Cannon activate!" Growlmon's arm morphed into a giant cannon. Devimon was already staggered. He tried unsuccessfully to rise to his feet as Growlmon leveled the cannon at him. 

"Do it Growlmon!", Takato cried to his partner. 

Growlmon nodded. "Supreme Cannon!" A torrent of energy spewed from the cannon and engulfed Devimon.

For a moment Devimon was lost in the smoke raised by the attack. Takato, Rika, and Henry watched tensely. The smoke began to fade to reveal Devimon crouched on the ground. His wings were folded around him like a cocoon. Slowly they unfolded. Devimon raised his head. His red eyes glinted and a smile formed on his bloodless lips. His leather wraps were charred but as he slowly stood he showed no sign of injury. Henry and Rika gasped. Takato's mouth hung open in shock. 

Devimon smirked and made a show of brushing ash from his arm. "Ouch." Before they could react Devimon's claws shot forward. "Death Claw!" He grabbed Growlmon and Gargomon lifting them into the air. His hands glowed with red energy. The digimon cried out in pain. Kyubimon charged forward. "Razor Wing!" Shards of darkness flew from Devimon's tattered wings and sliced into Kyubimon like a hail of razors. Kyubimon screamed as Rika ran forward. Devimon laughed and threw the limp bodies of Growlmon and Gargomon towards her. Takato tackled her out of the way as the massive bodies crashed to the earth cracking the pavement. For a moment they glowed and then reverted to Guilmon and Terriermon. Kyubimon struggled a moment longer and then fell to the ground and reverted to Renamon. 

Henry frantically searched through his cards. "Rika! Do you have another revival card? We have to..." He was cut off as the cards flew from his hand. Takato and Rika gasped as their own cards flew from their hands. The cards circled around Devimon's hands. 

"I'm afraid playtime is over. No more cards and no more digivices!" With a wave of his hand, the digivices were wrenched from the tamers' hands. The three digivices landed in the palm of Devimon's hand. He studied them for a moment before clenching his hand and crushing the devices. With a snap of his fingers the fluttering cards were reduced to ash! 

"No!", Takato yelled. 

"Oh dear. All gone." Devimon grinned and gestured towards the unconscious digimon on the ground. Slowly they floated into the air. 

Rika began to rush forward but Henry grabbed her arms and held her back. 

"Let go of me! I have to help her!" 

Henry struggled to hold her back. "Rika! He'll kill you!" 

"We have to do something!", Takato cried. 

None of the Tamers noticed Calumon as he fearfully watched from around the corner of a building. "This isn't any fun.", he whimpered. "That bad digimon is hurting my friends." For a moment the little digimon began to cry but then with a gasp he fingered the crystal on his forehead. "Maybe I can help." Calumon clenched his eyes shut and tried to will his crystal to glow as it always seemed to do right the before the other digimon changed. For a moment nothing happened, and then his head began to tingle. 

A claw shot around the corner and snagged Calumon, whipping him into the air. "Nooooo!", Calumon cried as he lost his concentration. Devimon's hand dragged the little digimon towards him. 

"Well well. I haven't seen an evolution digimon in quite some time." Devimon peered at Calumon through slitted red eyes. "I had thought your type extinct, but perhaps in this dimension that is not so." 

"Leave him alone.", Renamon managed to gasp trying to fight the paralyzing effect of Devimon's energy. 

Devimon gave her an amused glance. "Oh, I'm not going to hurt this little one. I can put his abilities to good use." 

Clenched in Devimon's hand, Calumon had locked eyes with Renamon. The yellow fox gave an imperceptible nod and Calumon began to concentrate again. His crystal shimmered, attracting Devimon's attention. "I don't think so.", he growled. Devimon released Calumon who floated over to the others. He rose higher into the air and gestured towards the ground. The street below began to shake violently as the pavement started to crack. Rika lost her balance and fell to the ground. Takato stumbled and nearly fell before Henry grabbed his arm to keep him up. The ground beneath Devimon split open and a black point protruded from the broken pavement. It slowly rose up revealing more and more of a spire shaped structure. The ebony needle continued to grow out of the ground until it was over ten stories tall. 

The tamers stared up at it with horror. "What...", Takato stammered. 

"Just a little toy a friend of mine created.", Devimon shrugged. "I call it a control spire. Now even your little friend can't help your partners digivolve." Devimon inspected the control spire with satisfaction. "Since you've all been so helpful to me, I'll let you live for now. Now if you'll excuse me..." With a wave of Devimon's hand, the three children were lifted into the air and sent flying away. They landed a dozen blocks away falling to the sidewalk from several feet up. Takato slowly got to his feet and tried to help Rika up. She angrily shook him off and turned to Henry who was staring back in the direction they had come from. 

"It's over.", he said on disbelief. 

"What do you mean it's over?!", Rika demanded. "We have to find a way to stop him!" 

Henry was still dazed. "We can't. He's too powerful. What could we ever do against him?" 

Takato grabbed Henry. "We can't just give up! Devimon may be stronger than us, but we're the only ones who can stop him!" 

"Gogglehead is right!", Rika cried. "There has to be something we can do." "Like what Rika?! He destroyed our digivices and cards and our digimon obviously aren't strong enough to fight him on their own!" 

"So we have to do something ourselves!", Rika said with determination. 

"Like what?", Henry said dejectedly staring at the ground. 

"I don't know.", Takato replied. "But if we don't stop him, just think about what he'll do to this city, to the entire world." 

Suddenly chilled, Rika crossed her arms across her chest. "The innocent people who'll suffer. My mother." A tear spilled from Rika's eye. 

Henry saw it and his fists clenched. His little sister was at home right now, probably wondering where he was. Takato thought of his parents and his friends. It was past the time when he was supposed to be home for dinner. His mom was probably worried sick. Their thoughts were interrupted as the ground began to shake once again, this time even more violently! Takato fell to the ground and the others quickly followed him. "What's going on!?", he yelled. 

"Look!", Rika cried. Deep shadows were creeping down the street. In a moment they saw why. In the distance a black wall seemed to be rising out of nowhere. It continued to grow larger. As it grew higher it began to curve inward. Within minutes the sky was being obscured by the dark growth. It was coming from all sides and growing over the city. The streets were already dark and the patch of sky they could see was rapidly growing smaller. 

"My god.", Henry gasped. 

"What's going on?", Takato cried. 

"He's sealing the city.", Rika whispered. 

Indeed the black dome had grown all around the edges of the city. It started as a ring and then began to close over the top of the city. Within minutes, only a small circle of the evening sky could be seen. The three tamers watched in silence as it shrank away. For a moment the city was in nearly complete darkness. Power lines that lead out of the city had been severed. Some emergency generators had kicked in, but the majority of the city was totally black. Then a red glow came from the sky. A number of glowing, red orbs had formed over the city. The light they cast was only enough to turn the darkness into a sea of eerie shadows. 

Over the center of the city Devimon hovered with the conquered digimon floating below him. He surveyed his new kingdom with satisfaction. His power was growing. Soon he would be able to tear open the boundaries between this world and his own. Then he would use the fortress he had created from the city to wage war on those who had beaten him before. They would die, and their world would burn.

In the light of the orbs, Takato, Henry, and Rika stared into the sky at the barely visible form of Devimon floating high over the city. 

"What do we do now?", Henry murmured. 

"Maybe I can help." 

At the sound of the voice all three tamers spun around. Standing calmly behind them was a young man with short brown hair wearing a white robe. 

"Who are you?", Rika demanded. 

The man smiled and extended his hand. "My name is Genai. Pleased to meet you."

TO BE CONTINUED... 


	2. Evil Triumphant

Di Di Di...

Di Di Di...

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Change into digital champions, to save and defend the world!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Digivolve into champions! Armor Digivolve!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon!

"All hail the Digimon Emperor." 

Ken Ichijouji looked out over a balcony to gaze upon a sea of digimon. They were chained together and kept their eyes to the ground. They chanted together without any trace of emotion. 

"All hail the Digimon Emperor." 

Ken's eyes widened in horror. "No!", he cried. "That's...that's not who I am anymore! I'm not..." 

He was cut off by a voice from behind. "They're not talking to you idiot!" The voice sounded exactly like Ken's, but was laced with cruelty. 

Ken turned to face the figure emerging from the shadows behind them. He wore a blue pants and tunic. A cape draped over his back and attached to the underside of his arms. His hair was spiky and blue. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of yellow goggles with purple lenses. 

"You!", Ken cried! The clothes and hair were different, but the face that sneered back at him was his own. 

"Yes me!", the Digimon Emperor spit back. "Did you really think you could destroy me?" 

"You're dead! You're not a part of me anymore!" 

The Emperor laughed evilly. "Oh come now Ken. Just because the dark spore is gone doesn't mean I am. We left quite a legacy." 

"No. I wiped every trace of you from the digital world! We destroyed the control spires! We destroyed your base! Kimeramon was the last living trace of your evil and he's gone!" 

The Emperor's grin grew wider. "And what about the digimon who still cringe in fear at the site of you? Fear and hatred is my legacy. And don't forget that Kimeramon wasn't the only evil I unleashed." 

Ken frowned. "If you mean Devimon, he's dead too." 

"Evil never dies Ken. It will always return in one form or another. As long as the evil I created continues to torture others, you will never be rid of me!" 

The world faded to black around Ken. He found himself weightless, looking down at the ruins of a city. The buildings were rubble. Fires burned everywhere. Dark shadowy creatures roamed the streets. The entire scene was bathed in red light. The sound of an evil laugh echoed through the air. To Ken it seemed chillingly familiar. "Help us." 

Ken turned to see the image of a young boy before him. He had shaggy brown hair which was matted down under a pair of goggles. "Please help us.", the boy pleaded. "Who are you?", Ken asked. "What...?" And then he woke up. 

Ken looked around his room as his eyes adjusted to the pale sunlight filtering through the blinds over his window. At the foot of his bed, a creature resembling a large green worm was curled up asleep. The dream had already begun to fade from his memory, but the sound of that laughter and the pleas of the young boy still rang in his ears. 

Digimon: Digital Monsters

Digimon Tamers

EVIL TRIUMPHANT 

Ken spent much of the morning wandering aimlessly through the streets of downtown Odaiba. His dream had brought back memories he would rather have stayed buried. There had been a time when Ken had found himself disgusted by the world around him. His superior intelligence had caused him to look down on everyone and everything around him. To him, the digital world had been the opportunity to become what he deserved to be, a ruler. He had created technology to turn the inhabitants of that world into his slaves. He had treated them with cruelty, taking his own frustrations out on those who could not fight back. 

It was only through the opposition of a group of children known as the digidestined that Ken had been stopped and come to realize the evil in his actions. He had set out to make things right. Ken joined the digidestined and helped to repair the damage he had caused. It was only later that Ken discovered he had been the pawn of a powerful evil digimon known as Myotismon. A dark spore embedded within his brain had been the cause of Ken's intelligence and his cruel nature. The fact that he had been controlled did not make Ken feel any better about what he had done. His friends had tried to console him, but it took a long time before Ken could see himself as anything other than a monster. 

When the dark spore was removed, it had taken with it all the things that Ken believed had made him special. He was no smarter or stronger than an average boy of his age. He wasn't the Emperor and he wasn't a boy genius anymore. He was just Ken, a boy with a good deal of doubt about who he was anymore. That was five years ago. Since then Ken had come to terms with his sense of self. As a digidestined, he had helped his friends save the world several times over. Most important to Ken, he had won the love of a fellow digidestined. He and Yolei had been together since shortly after the final battle with the digimon who had been responsible for his descent into darkness, Malomyotismon. In that time they had had their share of problems, as all relationships do. But, they had stayed strong. A day did not go by that Ken did not realize how lucky he was to have the love of a strong, caring woman like Yolei. She had helped him through his darkest time. When he had gone into despair, not knowing who or what he truly was, she had been beside him every step of the way. Without her love, he doubted he would ever have recovered. 

A year ago, he had faced a grim reminder of his former life. As the Emperor, Ken had attempted to create his own perfect digimon. Called Kimeramon, this creature had been infused by Ken with the essence of a deceased evil digimon known as Devimon. The evil in his creation had proved too much for Ken to control. The digidestined had destroyed Kimeramon, or so they thought. Last year his creation had returned. Ken and the others had fought and defeated Kimeramon, but not before it was responsible for the resurrection of Devimon himself. Ken's actions had released the most powerful and evil force the digital world had ever known. In the end, Devimon had been destroyed once again, but Ken still broke out in a cold sweat at the thought of what he had almost been responsible for. The battle with Kimeramon and Devimon had begun with a dream by another digidestined, Kari. Ken only hoped that his dream would not prove as foreboding as Kari's had been. Stuck in his pocket, Ken's hand brushed against something. He pulled out a small piece of flat pink crystal engraved with a symbol which looked roughly like a flower blossom. It was the crest of kindness. 

Each of the eight original digidestined had been given a crest which was supposed to represent their most powerful trait. Courage, friendship, love, knowledge, reliability, sincerity, hope, and light. Ken had only discovered his crest at the end of his tenure as the Digimon Emperor. Ken had always wondered why his crest was that of kindness. Even if his actions as the Emperor had been under another's influence, how could someone with great kindness within them have ever been capable of such things? Did he truly deserve this crest? When each digidestined realized their potential and truly understood the meaning of their crest, it began to glow and allowed their digimon partner to achieve new levels of power. In all the time he had had it, Ken had never been able to make his crest glow. He had never been able to find the true kindness within himself. 

Ken was so lost in thought that he did not notice the sound of a young woman's voice calling his name. It was only when the caller was almost upon him that he took notice and turned around. 

A girl of seventeen, with shoulder length purple hair, and a pair of black glasses faced him with hands on her hips. "Ken! Why didn't you answer me?" 

Ken blushed and stammered. "I'm sorry Yolei. I guess I didn't hear you." 

Yolei's face softened with concern as she noticed Ken's face. "Are you okay?" 

Ken's eyes turned down under her caring gaze. "I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well last night." 

Yolei gazed carefully at him for a moment more. He was hiding something, but she knew him well enough to know that he would tell her when he was ready. Resigning herself to wait, Yolei took his hand and began to walk beside him. "Are we still going to Matt's concert tonight?" 

Ken looked blank for a moment and then understanding flashed across his face. Matt, a good friend of theirs, as well as a fellow digidestined, was performing at a local club with his band that night. Ken and Yolei had made plans to meet some of the other digidestined and see the show. "Sure. I can't wait.", he said with forced enthusiasm. Yolei frowned at his halfhearted response. "We can skip it if you're not feeling well.", she said. 

"No. I'm fine." Ken smiled reassuringly and squeezed her hand. 

* * * 

The club was even more crowded than they had expected. Apparently, Matt's band was quite popular with the local crowd. Ken and Yolei had met up with Davis, Tai, and Matt's girlfriend, Sora. Tai, Matt, and Sora had been among the first digidestined chosen. Of all the original group, they had become the closest friends. The three of them attended the same college where Tai and Matt were roommates. Davis and Yolei were part of the second group of digidestined. Their group also included Tai and Matt's younger sister and brother Kari and T.K. Ken had been the last to join the group. 

In recent years, the second-generation digidestined had handled most of the threats to rise from the digital world. Only in dire emergencies, such as last year's battle with Kimeramon, did the older digidestined go into action. Each digidestined had a digimon partner, several of which were with them right now. Yolei's partner was Hawkmon, a red, feathered eagle who walked upright and spoke with a British accent. Davis had Veemon, who resembled a large blue lizard. Curled around Ken's neck was Wormmon who resembled a large green caterpillar. Sora's digimon, Biyomon disliked crowds and had chosen not to come. Agumon, Tai's partner was occupied with quelling a disturbance between several warring groups of digimon in the digital world. 

After several numbers the crowd was shouting its appreciation. Ken and the others, standing very near the stage, did their best to cheer the loudest. Ken had begun to enjoy himself and forget his earlier bad mood when a scream from outside the club caused everyone to fall silent. Matt and his band fell silent a moment after the crowd. For a moment there were confused murmurs as everyone wondered what they had heard. A second, clearer scream, followed by a roar send a tidal wave of young people surging towards the exits. Being near the stage, Ken, Yolei, Davis, Tai, and Sora climbed up to join Matt and the band who were already scattering. 

"What's going on!?", Davis yelled over the noise from the crowd below. Ken raised his shoulders to indicate he had no idea but he knew they all had a suspicion as to the cause of the panic. When a black winged silhouette crossed the large windows set high into the walls of the club, Ken's suspicion was confirmed. 

"There's a digimon out there!", Tai said. 

"And a mean one from the sounds of it.", Matt replied. 

"We'd better get out there.", Ken sighed. 

Yolei nodded and Davis was already reaching into his pocket to pull out his digivice, a handheld computer which allowed the digidestined to control the evolution of their digimon partners. Ken and Yolei followed Davis's lead, pulling out their own digivices. 

"You guys ready?", Ken asked Wormmon, Veemon, and Hawkmon. The three digimon nodded which was all the prompting the others needed. 

Holding out their digivices Yolei and Davis shouted in unison, "Digi-armor energize!" 

When the new digidestined had first been chosen, their partners were unable to digivolve naturally, so they had been given digi-eggs which drew power from the crests of the original digidestined. These eggs allowed their digimon to armor digivolve. At times, the armor digivolved forms were actually more useful than their natural evolutions. Davis had chosen the digi-egg of courage for Veemon and Yolei had picked the digi-egg of sincerity for Hawkmon. Bright beams of light from the digivices enveloped the digimon as the evolution began. 

"Veemon armor digivolve to...!" Veemon's body took on more humanoid proportions while maintaining its reptilian face and blue skin color. A pair of armored gauntlets, boots, chest plate, and helmet decorated with orange and red flame designs formed over his body. From each gauntlet, three blade like claws grew. A similar blade like horn sprang from the helmet over his nose. "Flamedramon! The fire of courage!" "Hawkmon armor digivolve to...!" Hawkmon's entire body changed form. He now resembled a human samurai. He was dressed in white robes and a mask, which obscured his entire face. Only his eyes were visible. His arms and legs resembled green springs. His hands and feet were like claws, each of which gripped a Japanese throwing star. A larger star was attached to his back and a cape resembling large green leaves hung from his arms. A red feather sticking out of his bandana was the only clue to his original form. "Shurimon! The samurai of sincerity!" 

Since Ken did not possess a digi-egg, Wormmon could only digivolve to his natural form. 

"Wormmon digivolve to...!" His body grew and took on a humanoid form. He was covered in dark green armor. His face retained an insectile appearance complete with long antennae, and multi faceted, red eyes bulged from either side of his head. A pair of transparent wings attached to his back buzzed softly as they carried him into the air. "Stingmon!" 

Stingmon flew swiftly over the crowd, swooping over their heads and flying out the crowded doorway. Shurimon vanished from sight and reappeared high above the crowd perched on the inside ledge of one of the windows. Swinging one of his stars into the glass he shattered it and leapt through the opening. Flamedramon's body burst into flames, and shot like a rocket from the stage through the broken window. The crowd had been temporarily distracted from their attempts to exit the building by the light show caused by the digimons' evolutions. Now they redoubled their efforts to escape the confines of the nightclub. 

"We'll never get through that!", Davis shouted, eyeing the mass of people trying to get through the door. 

"There's a back way out. Follow me!", Matt cried running backstage. Ken, Yolei, Davis, Tai, and Sora quickly followed. Matt led them through a brief series of hallways and finally out a fire exit which left them in an alley behind the club. The six of them ran around to the front of the building. They were greeted by the sight of the crowd streaming out of the front doors of the club. It was the action overhead which drew their attention, though. 

A black dragon with a long pair of arms and a huge set of wings was grappling in midair with their digimon. "That's a Devidramon!", Ken yelled, recognizing the monster above them. 

Flamedramon had a grip around the creature's neck while Shurimon and Stingmon attempted to pummel it into submission. 

"Double Star!" A flurry of whirling shuriken flew from Shurimon's hands but bounced off Devidramon's thick hide. 

"Spiking Strike!" A glowing spike extended from above Stingmon's right hand. He dove forward attempting to drive it into Devidramon's chest. The massive digimon swung one of his arms swatting Stingmon away before he connected. He then reached around his neck to grab Flamedramon and fling him forward. 

Flamedramon somersaulted once in midair then unleashed a swarm of fireballs from his hands towards Devidramon. "Fire Rocket!" The flaming projectiles pelted Devidramon but he shrugged them off. 

"He must have a weak point!", Ken said as he stared at the black shape flying over them. 

"Good thinking Ken.", Davis replied sarcastically. "Any idea what that might be?" 

Ken frowned. "Just one.", he said grimly. "Stingmon!" 

Stingmon turned to look down at his partner. For a moment the two of them exchanged a long look. Stingmon nodded and shot forward. "Spiking Strike!" Devidramon didn't act fast enough as Stingmon's spike drove deep into the black digimon's groin. On the ground Ken grimaced and Davis' mouth hung open in shock. Yolei repressed a snicker. Flamedramon and Shurimon gaped in shock and winced at Devidramon's howl of pain. Devidramon dropped from the sky like a rock. He lay on the ground, growling in pain and clutching his injury with both hands. 

Davis looked at Ken with a mixed look of admiration and shock. "That was harsh dude." 

Ken was hardly rejoicing over his victory. "It was the only thing I could think of to stop him.", he said weakly, looking at the ground. Stingmon had understood Ken's mental command and had gone through with it even though he did not like it. While inflicting that kind of pain in any fellow digimon was against his nature he could not argue with the results. The threat was ended. Or so he thought. 

Devidramon's red eyes snapped open and glared and Ken through tears of rage and pain. With a roar he was on his feet and hurtled towards Ken with his claws outstretched. The other digidestined had no time to react and Ken could only stare in horror as death hurtled towards him. Reacting without thought, Stingmon raced towards the ground faster than anyone could have seen. Spikes extended from both his wrists and he plunged them into Devidramon's neck a microsecond before he would have torn Ken apart. Ken stared in shock as the massive claws stopped an inch from his face. Devidramon slumped to the ground in a heap before Ken. He lay still a moment and then simply disintegrated. Still poised in the air, Stingmon stared at his spikes. They were covered in dark blood. Ken could only stare at the spot where the digimon had lain a moment ago. The others began to recover from their shock. With a small cry, Yolei wrapped her arms around Ken and cried into his chest. Ken's arms slowly encircled her sobbing form and tightened as he lowered his head. Flamedramon and Shurimon settled on the ground and reverted to Veemon and Hawkmon. Stingmon landed behind Ken and Yolei. He stood awkwardly for a moment and then reverted to Wormmon. 

Matt walked up behind Ken and put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry.", he reassured the younger boy. "You didn't have a choice. You're safe and you kept people from being hurt. That's what matters." 

Ken nodded but he hardly felt better about what had happened. Matt and Sora went to rejoin the band, while the other digidestined slipped away to go home. Ken and Yolei walked to her apartment building together. 

After seeing her home safe, Ken walked the rest of the way to his own apartment building alone. His parents were already asleep when he slipped inside. Wormmon was curled up asleep in his arms. He quietly went to his room and shut the door. Ken pulled out his laptop computer and brought up a map of the digital world. It had been quite some time since a wild digimon had appeared on earth. There were any number of portals between earth and the digital world but most of them were closed. The odds of a digimon simply stumbling into an active portal were small. Had someone sent Devidramon to earth? If so, why? Whatever the reason, a digimon was dead and Ken was responsible. It was not the first time he and Wormmon had killed. There were times when it was necessary, but that did not make it any easier. Ken pulled the crest of kindness out of his pocket. Was this why his crest had never glowed? He was not the Emperor anymore, but there was obviously still some ruthlessness left in him. He had not enjoyed hurting Devidramon, but his choice of attack had been brutal nonetheless. Was Matt right? Did he have any other choice? Ken fell asleep troubled, but at least he had no more disturbing dreams. 

* * * 

Ken awoke to the sound of a steady beeping. At first he thought it was his alarm clock although he had no memory of setting it. He rose from his bed and noticed that the sound was coming from his computer. A flashing indicator showed that he had received e-mail. Another digidestined, Izzy, had programmed the computers of all the digidestined to alert them if they received e-mail from a particular address. The message was short and simple. It asked Ken to meet in the computer lab of the Odaiba high school. The computer lab had long been the meeting place of the digidestined. Ken, Yolei, Davis, and the rest of the newer digidestined, Cody, Kari, and T.K. were able to meet there without arousing suspicion. While the world at large knew about the existence of digimon, the digidestined still tried to keep as low of a profile as possible. 

By the time Ken had arrived, Yolei, Cody, Davis, Kari, and T.K. had already arrived. Ken had brought Wormmon with him. Hawkmon and Veemon were there as were three other digimon. Perched on T.K.'s shoulder was Patamon who resembled a large brown hamster with a pair of small bat wings growing from the top of his head. Next to Cody was Armadillomon, who looked very much like an actual armadillo except for the fact that he had yellow skin and ornate patterns on the back of his shell. Standing near Kari was Gatomon, who looked like a large white kitten. Her front paws were covered by large, claw-like gloves, and a golden ring encircled her tail. It had been a while since the six of them had gathered like this. 

It reminded Ken of the old days before they had defeated Malomyotismon. Since that victory, the supply of opponents had pretty much dried up. The occasional escapee from the digital world or temperamental digimon rarely required all of them to handle it. It was for the best though. They all had their own lives to live after all. The older digidestined were all in college, which left little time for adventuring. Most of the younger generation were in high school and Cody was finishing junior high. They still got together socially, but usually in small groups as with the night before. Still, it was reassuring to know that they could all answer the call when there was a need for it. 

Davis was the first to notice Ken's arrival. "Hey dude!", he said with a wave. Ken smiled and walked over to stand beside Yolei who greeted him with a peck on the cheek. 

"I assume you all got a message from Gennai.", Ken said. The others nodded in agreement. 

T.K. was seated at a computer with Kari standing over him. "We've been waiting for him to contact us, but nothing so far.", T.K. said. 

Davis leaned against the wall with his arms behind his head. "You'd think if he were going to call us so early, he's at least have the courtesy to be punctual.", he said with a grin. 

Cody frowned. "If Gennai's keeping us waiting, he has a good reason." 

"I'm flattered by your faith in me Cody." The voice from the computer surprised them all. No one had noticed the video image of a young man with brown hair appear on the screen. "Hello everyone. I'm glad you could come. I'm afraid I didn't ask you to gather like this for nostalgia's sake." 

"Imagine that.", Davis muttered to himself. Kari and Yolei shot him a look which quickly shut him up. 

"A great danger has arisen, and I'm afraid it's not quite like anything you've faced before." 

"Whatever it is, you know we'll do everything we can Gennai.", Kari said. "Yeah!", Davis interjected. "So just point us to wherever in the digital world the trouble is and let's go handle it." 

"It's not the digital world which is in danger this time Davis.", Gennai replied. "While this may sound strange, the danger is in a parallel reality." The digidestined looked at each other in confusion. 

"I know this sounds bad considering everything we've been through...", said Yolei, "but isn't that a little out there." 

"I know it sounds hokey, but I actually have discovered the presence of another reality very similar to our own. Apparently it is linked to the digital world just as this world is. I only detected its presence when the barriers between that reality and the digital world began to break down. Something is drawing digimon into that reality. I have sensed a great evil coming from that place. I don't know the exact nature of the threat, but it must be stopped. With the balance between this other reality and the digital world in disturbance, the barriers between your earth and the digital world may also be in jeopardy. I suspect the digimon you faced yesterday was brought there by a portal which opened due to the disturbance between realities. For the sake of your world as well as this other one, the barriers must be restored. This can only be accomplished by stopping whatever is disturbing those barriers to begin with." 

"Whatever it is Gennai, we'll deal with it.", T.K. said with determination. 

"Yeah! Let's get to it!", Davis whooped. 

Cody was a bit less enthusiastic. "Gennai. If this threat is so important, wouldn't it be a good idea to gather all the digidestined?" 

"Normally I would agree.", replied Gennai. "But time is of the essence and the older digidestined are scattered across two continents. In the time it would take for them to be gathered, we may miss our opportunity to make this right. Rest assured I will contact them and send them to help as soon as possible. For now though, it's up to the six of you. 

"All right already. Let's get going already!", said Davis. 

"Very well.", Gennai replied. "But do not take this lightly. Anything that could breach the barriers between realities like this is a force to be reckoned with. I can open a portal to this reality, but not for long. It will require a great deal of energy to open the gateway. Once you are in, it will be some time before I can bring you back or send help." The others nodded. Gennai stretched out his hand and the air in the room began to shimmer. A light glow seemed to grow from nowhere and then with a rush of air, a glowing circle appeared before them. "Go through quickly!", Gennai ordered. 

"Here we go!", shouted Davis as he leapt into the light with Veemon right behind him. The others quickly followed. As soon as they were all through, the golden doorway vanished. The computer which Gennai had used to communicate clicked off. 

In the digital world, Gennai frowned in concern. "I wish I could have told you what you're up against, but you'll learn soon enough. Good luck." 

For a moment, the world swirled around the digidestined in a blur of color and light. Slowly, things came back into focus as they regained their bearings. They stood in the middle of a ruined street. The buildings around them were lying in ruins. Piles of rubble littered the street around them. Several ruined cars lay by the sides of the road. The sky was obscured by some sort of darkness which blotted out everything above them. A red glow came from somewhere and cast deep shadows all around them. The eerie light made the scene seem even more unreal. The humans and digimon gazed around them in horror. 

Kari was the first to speak. "What happened here?" 

Davis only mumbled dumbly. Yolei gripped Ken's hand so tightly his fingers turned white. But Ken didn't even notice the pain in his hand. His mind was a turmoil of images of what he saw in front of him and memories that had come flooding back as soon as he took in everything around him. "The dream...", he mumbled. 

Yolei looked over at him with concern. "What did you say?" "My dream. This is what I saw. My god." 

"You saw this?", Yolei whispered. 

"In a dream. I...I don't understand." Ken's voice faltered and faded. 

Davis' attention had been drawn by something else. "Guys, what does that look like to you?" He pointed into the distance where the saw a black tower rising into the sky. Ken saw what Davis was pointing at and a chill swept over him. 

"It's a control spire.", T.K. said with disbelief. 

"How is that possible?", Cody asked. Ken created the control spires when he was the...emperor." 

Ken's face was frozen in horror. Images of digimon in chains flashed through his mind. "No...", he whispered. "This can't be." 

"Ken?", T.K. asked hesitantly. 

"I'm responsible for this. This is my fault." 

"There is no way you had anything to do with this Ken!", Yolei cried. 

"She's right!", Davis chimed in. "This is a whole other dimension. Someone else must have built the control spire here." 

Wormmon had been silent since they arrived. He could sense something very wrong. There was an evil force here so strong he could practically feel it. And it brought back a lot of bad memories. His thoughts were interrupted when the ground began to tremble beneath their feet. 

"What's that?", Cody wondered. 

The shaking of the ground settled into a steady rhythm which was accompanied by a pounding sound which grew increasingly louder. They all stood tensely, waiting. When the pounding seemed right on top of them and the ground felt like it would shake apart beneath them, a black shape rounded the corner of a building a block away. It looked like a nightmare version of a dinosaur. It's skin was pure black with red striped encircling it's arms and legs. A row of spikes grew down its back and it's open mouth revealed rows of razor sharp teeth. 

"Darktyrannomon!", T.K. breathed. The creature narrowed its eyes as it saw the small group of humans and digimon in front of it. 

"This is bad.", Yolei said. 

"We can't digivolve! Not with that control spire here!", Patamon cried. 

"No problem! You can still armor-digivolve!", Davis said. 

Years ago, when Ken was the Digimon Emperor, he had built the control spires which blocked the ability of any digimon within their range to digivolve. They had found that the spires could not stop their digimon from armor-digivolving however. Blacktyrannomon was coming towards them with its claws raised. 

"Let's do it!", Yolei yelled brandishing her digivice. T.K., Davis, and Cody did the same. Gatomon had once been able to armor-digivolve, but was no longer able to. Her natural form was a champion level and only digimon at the rookie level could employ armor-digivolving. For a time, when Gatomon had lost her golden ring, her power lever had dropped enough to allow her to use one of the digi-eggs. But since recovering the ring, she was left unable to armor-digivolve to Nefertimon. 

The four digidestined with partners who could armor-digivolve cried together, "Digi-armor energize!"

"Veemon armor-digivolve to...!"

"Hawkmon armor-digivolve to...!"

"Armadillomon armor-digivolve to...!"

"Patamon armor-digivolve to...!"

Nothing happened. T.K., Davis, Cody, and Yolei looked at their digivices in confusion. "The digi-eggs aren't active!", T.K. cried! 

"The control spire is too powerful!", Cody guessed. 

"A control spire strong enough to block armor-digivolving?", Davis yelled. "We're screwed!", Veemon moaned. 

Blacktyrannomon took a massive swipe at them forcing them to scatter. The concrete shattered where his giant claws hit it. 

"What do we do?!", Yolei screamed. 

Ken looked in desperation at Yolei and his other friends. He had to help them somehow. There had to be something he could do. His eyes were drawn to the pink glow from beneath his shirt. He slowly reached down to withdraw the crest of kindness. It glowed brighter than it ever had before. A beam of light shot from it to Davis' digivice. 

"Whoa!", Davis cried. A brilliant golden glow emanated from Davis' digivice. "Davis, what...?", Ken stammered as the crest stopped glowing. 

Davis looked at his digivice in amazement. "The golden digi-egg is active!" 

The golden digi-egg had once been used by Ken to power his floating castle. He had found the egg but never found out where it had come from. When Davis had found the egg at the heart of the Emperor's base he had been able to use it on Veemon. The golden digi-egg had allowed Veemon to defeat Kimeramon the first time they had fought him and then disappeared. 

"Why is the golden digi-egg active now!", T.K. cried. 

"Who cares! Just use it!", Yolei shouted. 

"Right! Golden armor energize!" 

Golden light enveloped Veemon. "Veemon golden armor-digivolve to...!" His body grew taller and took on more human proportion while maintaining a lizard-like face and tail. Gold armor encased his arms, legs, chest, and face. The armor radiated light and forced Blacktyrannomon to shield his eyes. "Magnamon!"

Magnamon flashed into the air and tackled Blacktyrannomon throwing him to the ground. 

"Yeah!", Davis whooped. "Take that big lug down! Then go for the control spire!" 

Blacktyrannomon swung a massive claw but Magnamon swooped under it and released a flurry of punches into the monster's face. "Magna Punch!" Each blow drove Magnamon's opponent back another step until he roared in anger. 

His head leaned back and then snapped forward releasing a torrent of black flame from his mouth. "Dark Flame!" Magnamon was enveloped in the flames and fell from the sky trailing tongues of black fire. Blacktyrannomon growled and charged preparing to stomp Magnamon into the ground. 

"Shake it off man!", Davis hollered. 

Magnamon's eyes cleared as he saw the giant foot coming down on him. "Magna Blast!" A bolt of golden energy leapt from Magnamon's hands and threw Blacktyrannomon up and away. With the black dinosaur shaken, Magnamon flew forward and drew back his fist. It began to glow as he struck forward. "Magna Punch!" A vicious left hoof snapped Blacktyrannomon's head back and he fell to the ground with an impact that shook the earth. Magnamon hovered over the fallen form of his opponent making sure he was out of the fight. He then turned to the control spire in the distance. Holding his fists in front of him, Magnamon began to concentrate and his whole body began to glow. With one motion he snapped his fists forward releasing the light in one massive shot. "Magna Blast!" The golden ray flew away from them. They watched as it sped farther away. For a moment they lost sight of it and then there was the light of an explosion in the distance. The control spire shuddered and collapsed until all they could see was a cloud of dust. Slowly Magnamon lowered to the ground. He glowed for a moment and then reverted to Veemon. Davis rushed forward to congratulate his partner. Ken stared at the crest of friendship in his hand and it flashed with a golden light for a moment. Surprised Ken leaned in further but saw no other indication of life in the crest. 

In the heart of the city was a structure covered in the same black growth that had covered the sky over the city. The building was hollow within. A single circular opening in the very top allowed a pillar of red light to shine down. In the very center of the chasm, in the middle of the beam of light, a black form hovered in the air. It was vaguely man shaped and covered in what appeared to be black leather. At the moment the control spire was destroyed, the object rustled and a pair of red eyes shone through. A harsh voice whispered, "They have come. Go!" At the command, three dark shapes unfolded themselves from the walls of the cavern and flew upwards towards the opening in the ceiling.

"All right. So what do we do?" Davis looked at the other digidestined questioningly. 

Yolei smirked. "Why don't you tell us, oh fearless leader." 

"Oh sure. No one ever calls me the leader except when we have no idea what we're supposed to do." 

"You are the one wearing the goggles.", T.K. commented. 

With a grin, Davis yanked off the aviator's goggles which he had been wearing around his head. He casually tossed them to T.K. who caught them. "Here you go. Now you can make the big decisions." 

Without missing a beat T.K. responded. "I think we should head further into the city. We have to see if we can find some other people. They'll be able to tell us what happened here and who's responsible." The others murmured their agreement and followed T.K. as he started walking. 

Davis hung back for a few moments and then hurried to catch up. "I want my goggles back.", he grumbled. 

They has walked several blocks without seeing a trace of any other living thing. "Where are all the people?", Kari wondered aloud. 

"Do you think that whatever is responsible for this, killed everyone in the city?" Cody's voice trembled slightly. 

T.K.'s fists clenched and his face darkened. "If they did, I swear they'll pay for it." 

Ken had been silent since the battle with Blacktyrannomon. Everything he saw brought back images of his dream. He still didn't know what was going on, but every step brought an increasing feeling of dread. The other humans were worried, but did not seem to share Ken's fear yet. The digimon, on the other hand seemed to be picking up on the same bad vibes that Ken was. Patamon rode on T.K.'s shoulder with his wings tucked tightly against his head. Gatomon walked on all fours beside Kari. Her ears stood straight up, her fur was bristled, and her tail swished about nervously. Hawkmon flew just above and behind Yolei. His eyes were wide as he peered into every shadow. Armadillomon tried very hard to stay in Cody's shadow as he walked. Wormmon was wrapped around Ken's neck and he could feel him tremble. Only Veemon walked next to Davis with an easy confident stride. But his hands were tightly clenched and beads of sweat stood out on his forehead. 

Suddenly Gatomon stopped walking almost causing Kari to step on her. Gatomon's ears stood even straighter and her eyes scanned the darkness above them. "What is it?", Kari asked. The others scanned the sky nervously. 

"Something's coming.", Gatomon whispered. For a moment they listened and heard nothing. Then the sounds of leathery wings reached their ears. It was faint at first but the sound quickly grew louder. Gatomon spotted them first. "There!", she cried pointing at three dark spots in the red tinted sky. The three shapes rapidly grew larger and they could see that all three were being carried by large wings. 

"We're not taking any chances!", T.K. said grimly. "Digivolve now, while we still have the chance." 

While the armor digivolutions were often more versatile, the natural evolutions of the digimon were far more powerful. With the control spire destroyed there was nothing to stop them from digivolving naturally. 

"Veemon digivolve to...!" Veemon's champion form was a considerably bulked up version of his rookie form. He now stood seven feet tall. His blue skin rippled with muscles. His lizard face had a more defined snout with a small horn growing from it. A pair of small silver wings grew from his back and a V shaped design appeared on his white chest. "Exveemon!"

"Armadillomon digivolve to...!" Armadillomon grew until he towered over the others. He was roughly the size of a tank. His shell was now lined with several rows of spikes. His tail had a layer of armor over it and ended with a spiked club. The skin on his head had toughened and spikes grew from either side of his face. "Ankylomon!"

"Patamon digivolve to...!" Patamon's body morphed into a tall human form. He looked mostly human but his skin was pure white. Only his face had a normal flesh tone and the upper half of his head was obscured by a metal helmet. Three pairs of white, feathered wings grew from his back. "Angemon!"

"Gatomon digivolve to...!" Because Gatomon's normally remained in her champion form she digivolved straight to the ultimate level. He body changed and grew until she had the form of a young human woman. Her skin was covered by white satin. Her face was obscured by a helmet similar to Angemon's and long blond hair spilled from underneath it. Four pairs of wings grew from her back. "Angewomon!"

"Hawkmon digivolve to...!" As a champion Hawkmon became a giant bird of prey. His feathers retained their red hue and a pair of horns grew from either side of his head. His voice was now deep and throaty, containing no trace of the British accent he had in his rookie form. "Aquillamon!"

"Wormmon digivolve to...Stingmon!" 

With Wormmon's transformation, the six digimon stood ready for battle. The three shapes descended out of the sky towards them. As their forms became clearer, T.K.'s breath caught in his throat. Ken gasped as Yolei gripped his arm. A look of fear crossed Kari's face but her expression quickly hardened. Davis and Cody looked shocked for a moment but took a step forward with their fists clenched. The digimon stiffened. Stingmon extended his forearm spikes. A staff of gold formed in Angemon's hands and he held it at the ready. 

They were similar in many ways. One was completely white. His skin looked like it had never seen the sun. The air seemed to freeze around him. The second was female. She was clothed in tattered black leather. What skin shone through was pale and drawn. The third was slightly larger than the other two. He had one pair of arms which seemed relatively normal aside from being far too long and ending in vicious claws. He also had a second pair of arms beneath his first. They looked more like the tentacles of a squid than arms. Each was covered in suction cups and had pincer-like claws at the end. "Marinedevimon!", Cody growled, indicating the one with the tentacles. "Ladydevimon.", Kari pointed to the female in the group. 

"Icedevimon.", T.K. gulped. 

"Anyone see a pattern?", Davis quipped. No one smiled or even looked at him. "It can't be him.", murmured T.K. 

"God, no.", Ken whispered. 

The three demon digimon stopped their descent and stared down at the collection of humans and digimon below them. "The master knew you would come.", sneered Icedevimon. 

"Well tell your master to pack his bags 'cause we're gonna kick him right back where he came from!", yelled Davis. The demons laughed, their red eyes gleaming in the dim light. 

"Enough of this!", cried T.K. "Where is he!?" 

"If you want the master, you will have to get through us.", said Ladydevimon. The digidestined glanced at each other. "Go.", T.K. said. 

Angemon leapt into the air, tackling Icedevimon and propelling him away from the others. Angewomon was after him in a moment. Surprised by the sudden attack, Ladydevimon was caught off guard as Aquillamon slammed into her headfirst. Exveemon flew straight at Marinedevimon, grabbing one of his arms.

"Angel Staff!" Angemon's staff struck a vicious blow to Icedevimon's jaw. Angemon swung his staff again but this time Icedevimon caught it and used the momentum to swing Angemon up and over him. Angemon flipped over in mid-air and swung his fist towards Icedevimon. "Hand of Fate!" Golden energy shot from Angemon's fist but struck underneath Icedevimon as he shot up to avoid the attack. 

He was immediately caught in a swarm of glowing, white arrows shot by Angewomon. "Celestial Arrow!" Looping through the air, he managed to avoid most of the arrows but a few struck him and drew, pale blue blood. Angemon came at Icedevimon from behind but was slashed across the chest as Icedevimon spun around swinging his claws. 

"Frost Claw!" The wounds on his chest were cold as ice and though they did not bleed, Angemon could feel his strength flowing through them. With a grimace he fell from the sky leaving Icedevimon laughing down at him. His laugh was abruptly cut off as a foot struck him in the small of the back. Icedevimon choked in pain and turned in time to see Angewomon's foot sailing towards him. The blow struck him in the side of the head and he reeled back. On the ground T.K. was trying to help Angemon who could barely move as a paralyzing cold spread from his chest through his body. 

"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon shot arrow after arrow at Icedevimon to keep him at a distance. He was able to deftly avoid them but was unable to get close enough to attack. Finally one arrow hit him dead in the shoulder. Icedevimon cried out and clutched his wound. Angewomon raised her hands above her head as they began to glow with pink light. The light grew brighter as the power in her hands increased. Her hands pointed forward as she prepared to unleash a fatal attack. 

Icedevimon suddenly released his wounded arm and flung his hand forward releasing a ball of blue fire. "Zero Freeze!" 

The fireball struck Angewomon's arms just as she released her attack. "Heaven's Charm!" Ice formed over her arms and was shattered as the burst of pink energy exploded. With the force of the attack contained by the ice, Angewomon took the brunt of her own attack. She hung in the air for a moment and them fell from the sky already reverting to Gatomon. Kari screamed as Gatomon fell towards the ground. She rushed forward and caught the small cat digimon, tripping and falling to the ground with Gatomon in her arms. T.K. looked in desperation between his fallen digimon and his girlfriend who lay on the ground in pain. Icedevimon hovered over Kari and Gatomon. His injured arm still bled and he snarled in anger as his good arm ignited in blue fire. He raised his arm and prepared to strike at the pair on the ground. With a cry T.K. ran forward and tackled Kari and Gatomon out of the way as the ground beneath them erupted in blue fire and froze solid. Icedevimon snickered and prepared to attack again.

"Devi-Claw!" Ladydevimon's arm stretched as her claw shot forward. Aquillamon ducked to the side. The clawed hand shot by his head missing it by an inch. "Blast Rings!" Rings of red energy shot from Aquillamon's mouth. Ladydevimon soared around them laughing and ran right into a Stingmon's fist. She shook off the blow and tried to grab him with her claws. Stingmon shot past Ladydevimon like a rocket and flew in circles around her with ever increasing speed. Ladydevimon tried to track him but her eyes couldn't follow fast enough. Suddenly he stopped dead in front of her. With a start she brought up her claw but Stingmon moved faster, snapping her head back with a left hook. On the ground Ken flinched at the ferocity of the attack. 

"Lightning Strike!" Stingmon's fists flew forward in a flurry of punches. Ladydevimon's claws parried the blows just as quickly. With a beat of her wings, Ladydevimon soared backwards away from Stingmon. He zoomed forward to press the attack, but one of her claws shot towards him. He ducked and the claw missed him but struck one of his gossamer wings. The razor sharp claws shredded Stingmon's wing. With a scream, Stingmon fell spiraling towards the ground. 

"No!", Ken cried rushing to his fallen friend. Yolei was about to follow Ken but her attention was diverted by a cry of pain from Aquillamon. The large bird was grabbling in the air with Ladydevimon. Aquillamon's talons were gripped around Ladydevimon's waist and her claws were clenched around his neck. Each applied more pressure and refused to let go. Ladydevimon gasped for breath, but Aquillamon blacked out first. His claws let go and he fell towards the ground. Yolei stood frozen, looking up as the massive body of her partner plummeted towards her. 

"Black Typhoon!" A bolt of dark energy that had an almost liquid appearance shot from Marinedevimon's mouth and knocked the charging Ankylomon into the air. He flew several yards and then hit the ground on his back. His spiked shell tore up the concrete where he touched down. Exveemon kept a death grip on one of Marinedevimon's tentacles and refused to let go as he was swung through the air. 

"Don't let go!", Davis shouted from the ground. 

Exveemon gritted his teeth as Marinedevimon tried to shake him loose by hurling him into a wall. With a violent flip Exveemon's hold was broken and he sailed uncontrollably through the air. Marinedevimon laughed and extended his tentacle as it shot towards Exveemon. The tentacle smashed across Exveemon's head sending him towards the ground. He hit, bounced once and struggled to get up. Marinedevimon grinned and prepared to finish him. "Black Ty..." 

"Tail Hammer!" Ankylomon's tail swung through the air colliding with the side of Marinedevimon's head. Dazed, Marinedevimon clutched his head and tried to focus on the source of the attack. His tentacles whipped in all directions striking buildings and causing walls to crumble. Davis was too caught up in the battle to see a large chunk of rubble coming down on him. Exveemon sprung forward and shielded Davis with his body. The impact weakened him even more and he sank to his knees. 

"Spike Shell!" Ankylomon's spikes launched from his shell like missiles and pummeled Marinedevimon. Marinedevimon hung in the air, dazed for a moment. Ankylomon was about to press the attack when a cry from Cody stopped him. 

Cody had seen the plight the others were in. Without hesitation, Ankylomon charged forward. He leapt up and tackled Aquillamon's falling body out of the air before it could crush Yolei. Davis' attention was drawn to Kari and T.K. who stood helpless before Icedevimon. "Exveemon!" 

Exveemon nodded and rose shakily to his feet. "V-Laser!" A bolt of energy erupted from the V shaped mark on his chest and struck Icedevimon knocking him back. "Get everyone who can't fight to safety!", ordered Davis. 

Exveemon scooped up Kari, Gatomon, T.K., and Yolei in his arms. The wounded Angemon was too heavy for him to carry with the others. "Become Patamon so I can carry you too.", said Exveemon. 

Angemon weakly shook his head and got to his feet. "No. Get T.K. and the others to safety. I'll cover you." 

"Angemon...", T.K. began. 

"Go. I'll be all right T.K." 

Exveemon took to the air. Deviwomon lashed out her claws to strike him down but Angemon swung his staff to deflect her. She snarled in anger and fixed her gaze on Angemon. "Darkness Wave!" Ripples of black energy washed over Angemon. He groaned and sank to his knees as his strength was sapped. 

"Tail Hammer!" Ankylomon's attack knocked Ladydevimon out of the air and smashed her into the side of a building. 

"Hand of Fate!" The energy from Angemon's fist washed over Marinedevimon but he shrugged it off. 

From the ground, Aquillamon weakly shot at the chuckling Icedevimon. "Blast Rings!" The circled of energy were faint and most dissipated before they got within range of their target. From the rooftop where Exveemon had deposited them, T.K., Kari, and Yolei watched the fight below. 

"They're too weak.", Yolei said. 

"T.K., can you make Angemon digivolve?", Kari asked weakly. "No. He's barely got enough energy to maintain his champion form." 

Stingmon was on his feet but could not fly due to his damaged wing. Ken tried to keep him from entering the fight. "You can't fight. You're hurt!", Ken pleaded with his partner. 

"I have to help. They can't do it alone.", Stingmon answered determinedly. "Please. I don't want you to get hurt anymore." Neither noticed the faint glow from Ken's pocket. 

Stingmon placed a clawed hand gently on Ken's shoulder. "You know I can't stay here and do nothing while our friends are in danger. I need your strength to battle Ken. I can't do this without you." Ken slowly nodded. He and Stingmon looked into each others eyes for a moment and then Stingmon leapt forward. 

Marinedevimon had his tentacles wrapped around Ankylomon's midsection and was slowly squeezing the life out of him. "Spiking Strike!" Stingmon's spike struck into Marinedevimon's chest causing him to yell in pain. His tentacles loosened their grip and Ankylomon slipped to the ground. He breathed heavily and sank to his knees. 

Cody had ducked behind a pile of debris, but now prepared to rush to his digimon's side. "No Cody!", Ankylomon wheezed. "Stay back!" Cody halted and indecision clouded his face. He failed to notice a stray bolt of energy from the fight hit the building wall above him. Cody was frozen in fear as several large chunks of brick and stone hurtled towards him. There was a sudden impact and Cody was flung forward. He looked up to see Ken crouching over him. 

"Are you okay?", Ken asked with concern. 

Cody slowly got to his feet and gingerly touched his left arm. He winced in pain. "I think it's broken, or at least dislocated." 

"Hold it still.", Ken instructed him. Ken's shirt had been torn when he tackled Cody away from the falling debris. He tore a strip from the bottom the bottom and quickly put Cody's arm in a makeshift sling. "Try not to move it." 

"I think my arm is the least of our problems." The fight was not going well. Stingmon and Aquillamon were grounded and badly injured. Angemon, Ankylomon, and Exveemon fought valiantly, but their strength was fading and their enemies seemed tireless. With no strength left to muster their special attacks, the digimon could use only their fists, tails, and claws to fight. The demons seemed to find the spectacle of their foes throwing weak punches amusing. They laughed and darted around their heads, slashing with their claws. They all suffered multiple wounds and blood flowed freely from gashes and cuts. Finally they could take no more. Ankylomon collapsed on the ground, reverted to Armadillomon and lost consciousness. A vicious punch from Ladydevimon dropped Aquillamon who reverted to Hawkmon. Exveemon used his muscled arms to block his face as Icedevimon slashed at him. Icedevimon responded by extending his arm and chopping, Exveemon hard across the back of the head with the palm of his hand. With a groan, he fell to the ground and reverted to Veemon. From the rooftop, Kari, Yolei, and T.K. could only watch in desperation. 

On the ground, Ken was forced to hold back Davis and Cody, who both struggled to aid their fallen partners. Even as he held them back, Ken wished for nothing more than to run to Stingmon's side. But he knew there was nothing he could do except protect the others. 

Stingmon and Angemon fought back to back. Between Angemon's staff and Stingmon's spikes they were able to keep their foes at bay for a moment. Then Icedevimon hurled a ball of blue fire at Angemon. "Zero Freeze!" Angemon's staff and arms froze solid and he sank to the ground. 

Stingmon whirled to help his friend only to be knocked back by a bolt of black energy. "Black Typhoon!" 

Angemon shivered on the ground for a moment before reverting to Patamon. Stingmon climbed painfully to his feet and took a step forward. He stumbled and fell to one knee. The three demons hovered over him grinning. As one they struck. Their claws shredded his armor and tore open his chest. He fell back and didn't move. With a cry Ken ran forward. Heedless of his own safety he sank to his knees and held the body of his friend. 

"Stingmon.", he whispered. Stingmon's red eyes blinked slowly. 

"Ken.", he choked. Blood trickled from his mouth. Ken could barely see the wounds through the mangled mess of armor and blood, but he knew it was bad. 

"Change back to Wormmon so you can heal.", he said softly. Stingmon coughed and a spray of blood left his mouth. 

"I can't. Don't even have enough strength to de-digivolve." 

"Please.", Ken whimpered. 

"Go. Get the others away from here." 

"I can't leave you." Tears flowed from Ken's eyes. 

"I'm dying Ken. There's nothing you can do." The edges of Stingmon's body seemed to flicker. He turned transparent for a moment and then resolidified. "I'm sorry Ken. I have to leave you." 

"No! I can't lose you again!" 

"Goodbye my friend." Stingmon's eyes closed and his body flickered again. 

Ken clung to Stingmon. "Please hold on! I'm so sorry! Sorry for everything!" Ken could hardly see through the tears in his eyes. "I won't leave you! I'll never leave you! Never! Stingmon!" 

The explosion of light threw Ken back from Stingmon's body. For a moment he had no idea what was happening. The crest of kindness hovered in front of him glowing brighter than it ever had. A beam of light shot from Ken's chest and he gasped, arching his back. The light flowed through the crest and into Stingmon's body. For a moment, the digimon glowed faintly and then brighter. The wounds on his chest closed as new armor grew over them. The cuts all over his body healed and the cracks in his armor repaired themselves. His torn wing grew back in an instant. As his body finished healing, Stingmon's eyes snapped open. Ken watched in amazement as his body rose into the air and hovered in front of him. The demons had drawn back at the sudden brightness. Now they looked in awe at the spectacle before them. The crest of kindness slowly floated into Ken's outstretched hand. It glowed even brighter in the palm of his hand and a gold light enveloped it. A solid form appeared around the crest. It was now encased in a golden pendant with a silver cord attached to it. Another glare of light erupted from Ken's pocket at his digivice flew from his pocket to float in the air between Ken and Stingmon. Another beam of light shot from the crest into the digivice and then through it into Stingmon! His body glowed brightly and then disappeared in a blaze of white light.

"Stingmon digivolve to...!" Stingmon's legs grew together into an insectoid abdomen with a large stinger protruding from it. Four thin legs tipped with hooked claws sprouted from the lower part of the abdomen. His chest armor expanded and turned a deep shade of green. His clawed hands morphed until there were six fingers on each hand. Rows of needle-like spikes grew up an down his arms and chest. His head lengthened and blades grew from either side of his face armor. Thin, wispy antennae blew freely in the breeze around his head. Two pairs of transparent wings beat rapidly on his back. "Ekichumon!" 

The other digidestined watched in amazement. T.K. glanced at his digivice which was processing information on the digimon. "Ekichumon. His name means useful insect. His attacks are Dart Swarm and Bug Zapper." 

"Wow. Ken finally empowered his crest.", Kari said. 

"I knew he could.", Yolei breathed. 

"Stingmon was able to digivolve to the ultimate level by himself. Amazing!", Cody said. 

"Way to go Ken!", Davis cried. 

Ken looked in stunned silence at his partner's new form. "How?", he whispered. Ekichumon's voice was similar to Stingmon's but deeper. "You made the crest of kindness glow Ken. You released the kindness that had been within you all along. Thank you Ken!" 

Ekichumon swept out his arms. Dozens of tiny slits opened in his armor. "Healing Spore!" A fine green mist sprayed out and settled over the wounded digimon on the ground. As the cloud of green particles touched them, their wounds healed. One by one their eyes opened and they got to their feet stretching their muscles. 

"Wow! I feel great!", cried Veemon. 

"I feel like a new mon.", quipped Armadillomon. 

"Indeed.", replied Hawkmon testing his wings. 

"Uh-oh.", mumbled Icedevimon. 

Davis's digivice began to glow as did Cody's beside him. "Let's do it!", Davis yelled. 

"Right!", Cody said. 

On the roof Yolei and T.K. nodded in agreement.

"Veemon digivolve to...Exveemon!" 

"Armadillomon digivolve to...Ankylomon!" 

"Hawkmon digivolve to...Aquillamon! 

"Patamon digivolve to...Angemon!" 

"Let's go all the way Angemon!", called T.K. 

"Angemon digivolve to...!" White armor formed over Angemon's body. Golden ribbons crossed over his chest and a purple shield extended over his left arm. A fourth pair of wings grew from his back and a larger, purple helmet replaced the metal one he had worn. "MagnaAngemon!" 

In Kari's lap, Gatomon stirred and woke up. "Gatomon! Are you all right?" Gatomon stretched her arms and flexed her claws. "I feel a lot better, but I don't know if I'm strong enough to digivolve yet. 

"Maybe with a little help from your friends?", Yolei asked. Gatomon nodded and Yolei took Kari's hand. Gatomon and Aquillamon began to glow. Gatomon leapt off the building to meet Aquillamon in midair. 

"Gatomon!" 

"Aquillamon!" 

"DNA digivolve to...!" Their forms merged and a new warrior emerged! He had Aquillamon's red feathered legs and clawed feet, and Gatomon's white furred arms and claws. Armor covered his chest and shoulders. His face was human but Gatomon's large ears stuck out from the side of his head. Red and white feathers grew from the underside of his arms. A red visor covered the top half of his face. "Sylphimon!"

The three demon digimon had suddenly lost their confidence. Though they hadn't been nearly as wounded and weakened in the fight as the digidestined, the fight had still taken it's toll. Now they were confronted by a group of opponents who were fresh and considerably stronger than they had been before. "Perhaps a strategic retreat is in order?", murmured Icedevimon. 

"Would you rather face them, or the master when you tell him you ran away?", asked Ladydevimon with a sneer. 

"Icedevimon's eyes widened. "Good point." 

The demons charged forward with a snarl. Ekichumon, MagnaAngemon, Sylphimon, Exveemon, and Ankylomon rushed forward to meet them.

Marinedevimon's tentacles shot into the air trying to snare Ekichumon. He deftly maneuvered around them, circling behind his opponent. "Dart Swarm!" Ekichumon flung out his arms and the needles on his arms and chest flew at Marinedevimon. Dozens of the tiny spikes stuck into Marinedevimon's face and eyes. He struggled to pull them out but the poison coating the darts was already taking effect. His vision blurred and his body began to stiffen. 

"Black Typhoon!" The energy bolt soared past Ekichumon, missing him easily. Green arcs of electricity jumped up and down Ekichumon's arms concentrating around his hands. "Bug Zapper!" Large bolts of green lightning shot from his hands and struck Marinedevimon directly in the chest. His four arms stuck straight out, his red eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he screamed in pain. The black leather wound around his body began to smoke. Ken noticed a smell of burnt fish in the air. Ekichumon broke off his attack and Marinedevimon fell to the ground unconscious and smoldering, but alive. 

"Zero Freeze!" Icedevimon hurled sputtering balls of blue fire at MagnaAngemon and Exveemon. A blade of purple energy extended from MagnaAngemon's wrist and dispersed the fireballs before they could touch him. 

Fully revitalized, Exveemon was able to easily dodge the attacks thrown at him by the panicked demon. "V-Laser!" The beams from the marking on Exveemon's chest knocked Icedevimon back. Icedevimon raised a hand crackling with blue fire and screamed as MagnaAngemon's blade severed it at the wrist. The severed hand instantly froze solid and disintegrated. 

Icedevimon stared in horror at the stump on his wrist. He looked up only in time to see Exveemon's blue fist flying towards his face. "Exvee-Punch!" Icedevimon's jaw cracked and a number of his fangs were knocked loose. He hung in the air for a moment and then followed his teeth towards the ground. 

Ladydevimon hissed and swung her claws narrowly missing Sylphimon who swooped under her reach. "Hold still damn you!", she screamed. 

"So you can do this?", Sylphimon asked, soaring behind Ladydevimon and raking her claws across the demon's back. Ladydevimon swung viciously behind her but Sylphimon was already gone. 

A ball of red energy formed in Sylphimon's hands and she hurled it at Ladydevimon. "Static Force!" 

Ladydevimon ducked low to avoid the attack and was hit hard from behind. "Tail Hammer!" Ankylomon's spiked tail smashed into her back sending her hurtling towards Sylphimon. Sylphimon's foot snapped up catching Ladydevimon in the chest. 

Ladydevimon charged forward again with her claws extended but Sylphimon simply raised her hands. "Astral Laser!" A blast of yellow light shot from Sylphimon's outstretched palms and hurtled Ladydevimon to the ground. She lay still for a moment and then struggled to get up. The last thing she saw before blacking out was Ankylomon's tail swinging down towards her.

In the aftermath of the battle the Digidestined and their partners gathered around the forms of the fallen demons. All of the digimon except Exveemon and MagnaAngemon had returned to their rookie, or in Gatomon's case champion, forms. "So what do we do with them?", asked Davis. 

"I suppose the safest thing would be to destroy them.", replied T.K. slowly. 

"No! We can't just kill them!", Ken cried quickly. 

"Ken's right. They're unconscious and helpless.", said Cody. 

"I know, I know.", replied T.K. "And we do need to question them. Still, we have to at least restrain them." 

"I can take care of that.", said Wormmon. "Sticky Net!" Wormmon quickly circled the demon digimon trailing a silk cord from his mouth. As he wrapped the webbing around them, T.K and Ken worked quickly to secure it until the three creatures were firmly wrapped in multiple layers of Wormmon's web.

Icedevimon was the first to awaken. "Who is your master?! And where is he?!", demanded T.K. Icedevimon simply grinned, which looked even more ghastly due to the chipped and broken fangs which filled his mouth. "Where is he!?", T.K. cried again. "You may as well destroy us.", sneered Icedevimon. "There is nothing you could threaten us with that would be worse than the price we would pay to the master for betraying him. He's going to kill you, you know. And he's going to make it slow and painful. He'll have an especially good time with her." Icedevimon indicated Kari. "I only wish I could be present for the delightful horrors he will inflict on her." 

With a cry of rage, T.K. drew back his fist. Ken but a firm hand on his shoulder causing T.K. to hesitate. "Don't let him bate you.", Ken said softly. T.K. fist lowered but his eyes burned. 

"We're not going to get anything out of them. What do we do?", demanded Davis. 

"We can't leave them here.", said Yolei. "They'll get free eventually and come after us again." 

T.K. frowned and Ken turned away, knowing what he would say. "We have no choice. MagnaAngemon...", T.K. swallowed hard. MagnaAngemon nodded gravely and extended his energy sword. Ken walked several steps away and closed his eyes. He felt Yolei come up behind him and take his hand. Kari and Cody had turned away. Only T.K. and Davis stood solemnly and watched the spectacle with hardened faces. Ken heard MagnaAngemon's sword cut through the air then the thump of something hitting the ground. At the last moment, Davis flinched and T.K. turned his head. Ken didn't turn until he had heard the sound of the bodies digitally decomposing. The strands of webbing lay, loose and empty on the ground. Kari had her arms tightly around T.K. who held her gently. 

"Now what?", Davis said softly. 

"We keep going.", T.K. said. "Try to find someone." 

The six humans and digimon walked quietly for a number of blocks. They encountered no other digimon or people. after nearly a half hour, Gatomon's ears perked up. She turned towards a demolished storefront. "Someone's inside." 

They advanced slowly. The store had been a bakery. The front window was shattered and the sliding door lay crumbled on the ground outside. The inside was relatively undamaged. Broken glass was strewn about near the window and several display cases had been smashed, their contents scattered on the ground. The basic structure was intact, however. A doorway behind the counter was hidden by a curtain. Gatomon pointed towards the doorway. 

Davis stepped up to it cautiously and slowly drew the curtain back. He squinted into the darkness and took a step forward. There was a shout and something swung towards Davis' head. He cried out and ducked away barely avoiding the attack. He stumbled backwards into the faint light of the front part of the store. Veemon had rushed forward and the others stood ready to attack. 

A middle-aged man in a dirty white apron with short brown hair stepped out of the darkness wielding a wooden bat. "Stay away from me! Get the Hell out of here!" Davis blinked at the man and the others seemed unsure how to react. For a moment, he swung the bat menacingly and then seemed to stop and look a them. The bat lowered slightly. Confusion showed on his face. "Y-You're not monsters?" Gatomon sniffed. Noticing the sound, the man looked down and noticed the digimon standing among the children. The bat shot back up and rage replaced the confusion on his face. "You're with them! Get out now or I swear I'll...!" 

"I don't believe it!" A young female voice from the dark room surprised them all. The man turned and the others could see a girl a few years younger than Cody standing in the darkened doorway. 

"Jeri! Get back! They're...!", the man cried. 

"They're the digidestined!", Jeri cried. 

Now the man looked confused again. "The what?" 

"Digidestined!" She ran forward and stared at Davis with a look of awe and disbelief on her face. "From the Digimon cartoon! That's Davis, and Yolei, and Kari, and T.K., and Ken, and Cody! And that's Veemon, Hawkmon, Gatomon, Patamon, Wormmon, and Armadillomon!" 

"They're cartoon characters? Jeri, what are you...?" The bat was lowered and now the man was looking between Jeri and the digidestined who looked just as confused as he did. 

"What does she mean, "cartoon"?", Cody asked. 

"Everyone knows about the Digimon cartoon! And you guys are from it! You look kind of older but..." 

"In this reality, we're a cartoon?", Davis asked, looking at the others in disbelief. "I've seen the whole series! In the first season you two were just kids!", Jeri spoke quickly and excitedly pointing at T.K. and Kari. "And you guys and Matt and Tai and the others beat Devimon and Etamon and Myotismon and the Dark Masters! And then the rest of you showed up in the second season and you fought the Digimon Emperor and then he became Ken again and joined you and you fought Arukenimon and Blackwargreymon and that creepy guy and Daemon and then Malomyotismon!" 

"You know all about us because you've seen us on T.V.?", T.K. asked slowly. "Yeah! And there were a bunch of movies! And action figures and comics and video games and cards and...!" 

"Exactly how much do you know about us?", asked Ken. 

"Everything! Cody's dad was a policeman who was killed, and Davis had a huge crush on Kari but she liked T.K., and Ken's older brother was killed in a car accident, and Davis' sister is totally obsessed with Matt! Ken was only evil because he had that dark spore thing in his neck, and Yolei had this crush on Ken before you found out he was the Emperor, and Veemon had a thing for Gatomon!" 

Hearing the personal details of their lives talked about so freely by someone they had never met made them all uncomfortable. Davis actually blushed and Veemon turned away from Gatomon who stared at him suspiciously. Ken and Cody had pained expressions on their faces. 

"How is this possible?", T.K. asked. "How could our entire lives have been recreated as a kids' television show?" 

"Well, now we know the connection between this reality and ours.", sighed Davis. 

"Some connection.", muttered Yolei. 

"So how do I look on television?", asked Armadillomon. 

"Betcha I'm the star of the show!", said Veemon flexing his arms and flashing a toothy smile. Gatomon and Patamon looked at each other and rolled their eyes. 

"I hope they got my hair right.", remarked Davis running a hand through his spiky locks. Even T.K. found himself looking into the reflective surface of a broken piece of glass trying to imagine what he'd look like as an animated character. 

"Honey, what's going on?" A middle aged woman stepped timidly out of the back room. 

The man looked at her with a shrug. "We're fine dear. Jeri and I were just catching up with a bunch of cartoon characters come to life." The woman shrieked as she noticed the digimon. Her husband placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It's all right. I don't think they're like the other ones." Jeri was staring amazedly at Veemon who stared back, seemingly just as fascinated by her. 

T.K. finally walked over to the man and woman. "Look, all this television stuff aside, we are here to help. Can you tell us what happened here?" 

The woman suddenly choked back a sob and her husband lowered his head. "It started a few months ago. These, creatures, these monsters started showing up in different places around the city. Some people said that they looked like the characters from this card game that the kids liked to play, Digimon. Our son, Takato and his friends were big fans of it. There was some property damage, but no one was seriously hurt. Then, a few days ago...a fight between some of these...Digimon...broke out downtown. A building was wrecked and a street got torn up. Then that thing grew over the city and those lights appeared in the sky. The entire city was sealed up. We were completely cut off. No television or radio signals could get in. Phones wouldn't work. The electricity shut off. Then those monsters started appearing. They grabbed people off the street. They broke into buildings and carried people away. Some of them came by here, but we were able to hide. Jeri is a friend of our son, she was in the store when all this started. We haven't seen anyone else in days. We don't know what happened to the people who got taken. We haven't...seen our son since this began. I...we don't know where he is or what happened to him." Tears began to roll down his cheeks. "Please. Are you really heroes, like Jeri says you are? Can you help us?" 

"Yes.", said T.K. "We're going to put an end to this. I promise you." 

Ken stepped forward. "We'll find your son. We'll bring him back to you safely." "Oh, wow!", Jeri sighed. 

"There's a building in the center of the city. Before everyone went into hiding, I heard that some of the monsters were coming from there." 

"Then that's where we're going.", said Davis. 

"Right.", responded T.K. 

"Let's do it!", said Ken walking towards the street. The others followed leaving the people inside to watch after them with hope. 

"We know where we're going. Let's not waste any time!", Davis said pulling out his digivice. 

"Let's take to the air.", T.K. said. 

"I'll be able to carry you easier as Pegasusmon.", Patamon said to T.K. 

T.K. nodded. "Digi-armor energize!"

"Patamon armor-digivolve to...!" Patamon's armored form was a large winged horse with golden armor covering his head, back and legs. Small ears resembling Patamon's wings poked out from beneath his armored helmet. "Pegasusmon! Galloping Hope!" 

"Veemon digivolve to...Exveemon!" 

"Gatomon digivolve to...Angewomon!" 

"Hawkmon digivolve to...Aquillamon!" 

"Wormmon digivolve to...Stingmon!" 

Unfortunately for Cody, none of Armadillomon's evolutions could fly. "You can ride with us Cody.", T.K. said, helping Cody and Armadillomon onto Pegasusmon's back. The five flying digimon launched into the air leaving the three people below staring after them from the shadows of the store. From the air they could see that the darkness in the sky was actually a dome covering the entire city. Near the center of the city was a tower-like structure that seemed to be made from the same material as the dome. 

"Hands up, anyone who thinks that's it.", said David pointing towards the tower. One of the red orbs hovered in the sky above the tower. 

"What say we get the master's attention?", asked Davis pointing towards the orb. T.K. nodded. 

"Equis Beam!" A bolt of green energy shot from a triangular symbol on Pegasusmon's head. The attack shattered the red orb extinguishing the light over the dark tower. 

"Now let's see about cracking that dome!", cried T.K.. The five flying digimon unleashed their attacks at the dark covering above them. 

"V-Laser!" 

"Spiking Strike!" 

"Celestial Arrow!" 

"Blast Rings!" Pegasusmon flapped his wings and a hail of star shaped projectiles flew upwards. "Star Shower!" 

The impact from the attacks caused hundreds of small fractures in the dome, but no serious damage. "Hit it again!", commanded T.K.! 

"Equis Beam!" 

"Spiking Strike!" 

"Heaven's Charm!" 

"V-Laser!" 

The cracks in the dome grew and a thin rays of sunshine showed through several of the larger chinks. Aquillamon and Stingmon charged upwards together. Aquillamon's horns began to glow as did Stingmon's arm spikes. They crashed into the dome together unleashing the energy of their attacks! 

"Grand Horn!" 

"Spiking Strike!" 

The combined force of the impact was enough to chatter a large section of the dome. Through the hole clear, blue sky could be seen. A shaft of sunshine shone through illuminating the tower below. 

Ken and Stingmon soared up through the hole and looked around them. They could see large crowds of people gathered at various points around the edges of the dome. A large number of police cars, fire trucks and military vehicles had gathered. It looked as though several tanks had been called in to attempt to break through the black shell around the city. "Those tanks must have at least as much firepower as our attacks.", said Ken thoughtfully. "So why can't they break through." 

"I think I know why!", cried Stingmon urgently. Beneath them, the hole in the dome was beginning to repair itself. The hole the had blasted was shrinking quickly. Stingmon dived back through the hole to rejoin the others. A few moments later, the damage was almost completely undone. 

"Great.", remarked Davis. 

"We still haven't gotten any response from the tower.", commented Cody. 

"Let's change that." T.K. pulled out his digivice. Pegasusmon set T.K., Cody, and Armadillomon. down on a nearby building and then reverted to Patamon. "Ring the bell Patamon!" 

"Patamon digivolve to...Angemon!" 

Angemon flew towards the tower and grew back his fist. "Hand of Fate!" His hand snapped forward releasing a blast of gold energy. The explosion lit up the whole area for a brief moment. The result was a large hole in the side of the tower. 

"If he won't come out, we'll bring the whole tower down right on his head!", yelled T.K. For a moment they all stared tensely at the tower. Then a swarm of white objects poured from the hole Angemon had blasted. 

"It's a whole hoard of Bakemon!", yelled Davis pointing at the rapidly advancing army. 

They looked like the ghosts form cheap horror movies. White sheets draped over something unseen. Except, these sheets had large fanged mouths and ghoulish red eyes. "You gotta be kidding.", moaned Davis. Exveemon, Aquillamon, Angewomon, and Stingmon set their partners down on the roof with T.K. and Cody. The digimon charged into the mass of Bakemon who scattered like bowling pins. 

"Angel Staff!" Angemon's staff flashed through the air repelling the Bakemon who charged him. 

"Exvee-punch!" Exveemon's blue fist sent one Bakemon spiraling into several others. "This is too easy!", he shouted. 

Angewomon's arrows impaled several more Bakemon. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!" 

Within minutes the majority of the Bakemon were either defeated or had run away in fear. When the last of the ghosts had been dealt with the digimon regrouped on the rooftop with their human partners. The tower sat in the shadows quiet and dark. 

"Is that it? Not much in the way of security.", commented Davis. 

T.K. frowned. "Hit it again Angemon." 

"No!" Ken grabbed T.K.'s shoulder. "What if the people who were taken are in there somewhere? If we tear that place apart they could be hurt." 

T.K. sighed, acknowledging that Ken was right. "So what can we do?" 

"I'll tell you what we can do!", cried Davis. "We kick down the front door and fight our way to the big man!" 

Kari angrily stepped forward. "That's crazy Davis! Whoever is behind this, they have enough power to take control of an entire city on a matter of days. We can't just challenge him in his own stronghold! That's just going to get us killed!" 

"What are you? Afraid!? Kari, you're like, the strongest of all of us! How bad could this guy be that we couldn't take him?!" 

T.K. rushed forward and grabbed Davis by the front of his shirt! "Stop playing games Davis! We know who's behind this!" Davis stepped back but T.K. kept his grip on him. 

"Whoa T.K.! What do you...?" 

"It's him Davis! It's Devimon!" T.K. let go of Davis and his arms fell to his sides. The others were silent. They had all suspected it, but hadn't said anything for T.K.'s sake. 

When the original digidestined had been brought to the digital world nine years ago, Devimon had been the first enemy they had had to face. In the final battle, Angemon had sacrificed himself to destroy Devimon and save T.K.'s life. Angemon had soon been reborn but T.K. had never forgotten the sight of his friend struggling with Devimon as both of them disintegrated before his eyes. Four years later, when T.K. had discovered that Ken, as the Emperor, had used part of Devimon's data in the creation of Kimeramon it had caused a reaction that none of them had ever seen from T.K. He had attacked Ken in a rage, nearly beating him unconscious. When they had discovered that Devimon had used the newly reborn Kimeramon to institute his own recreation, it had come down to T.K. and Kari to beat him once again. T.K. thought that Devimon had been destroyed for good that time. Now, they were surrounded by the signs that he or at the very least, another Devimon had returned to terrorize another reality full of helpless people. 

As much personal angst as T.K. had with Devimon, Ken was having as much difficulty dealing with this as T.K. was. He had used Devimon's data to create Kimeramon. It was his own fault that this had happened. He has made Kimeramon and Kimeramon had remade Devimon. All the suffering and destruction this world had suffered were the results of his actions. Devimon's use of the control spire Ken had created was like a personal blow to his conscience. One way or another, Devimon had to be destroyed, if not by T.K.'s hand, then by his own. 

Within the tower, the black shape stirred. The leathery cocoon unfolded to reveal a long, thin body wrapped in black leather. That which had covered him was actually a pair of large, black raggedy wings. Red eyes glowed through a leather mask that revealed only the lower half of his pale face. A smile spread across his bloodless lips. "It's time."

The digidestined were still contemplating the best way to assault the tower when a black shape rocketed out of the hole Angemon had created. It shot into the sky and then stopped in midair high above them. They could see its shape silhouetted against the red sky. A lanky body with long arms, wide wings full of holes, and a pair of horns on its head. 

T.K. and Ken froze in a combination of fear and rage. "Devimon.", they whispered together. Then the dark shape flew straight towards them. Before they could react he was in the air directly above them. They could see him clearly for the first time. he looked at them one by one and finally his gaze stopped on T.K. 

"Welcome to my new kingdom Takeru.", he said in a dry, whispery voice. "I'm so glad you could come." 

"It is you.", whispered T.K. 

Cody was the first to react! "Armadillomon! Digivolve!" Armadillomon's body began to glow but Devimon's arm snapped forward striking the smaller digimon and sending him hurtling across the roof. He hit the opposite edge and lay still. Aquillamon had better luck. He flew straight into Devimon, driving him upward and giving the others time to act. 

"Angemon!", T.K. cried. Angemon shot into the air as he transformed. "Angemon digivolve to...MagnaAngemon!" 

"You too Stingmon!", commanded Ken. 

"Ken wait! Maybe we should...", but Davis was cut off as Stingmon began to digivolve. 

"Stingmon digivolve to...Ekichumon!" 

"Death Claw!" Devimon's hand clamped around Aquillamon's neck and glowed with red energy. The large bird digimon screamed as the red energy crackled around his body. With a laugh, Devimon released Aquillamon who plummeted to the ground below and reverted to Hawkmon. MagnaAngemon and Ekichumon charged through the air towards Devimon. A double backhand sent them spiraling away. 

"Exveemon go!", shouted Davis. 

"V-Laser!" Exveemon's energy attack splashed off of Devimon's outstretched hand. There was no time to react as Devimon's other claw shot forward and slashed Exveemon across the chest. Exveemon collapsed holding the deep, bleeding wounds. "How strong is he?", murmured Cody. 

"There has to be some way to beat him!", cried Yolei. 

"After all the time I've looked forward to this reunion, you are all making this far too easy!", sneered Devimon. 

"Celestial Arrow!" Devimon spun as a glowing white arrow embedded itself in his chest. Devimon showed no sign of pain and merely plucked the arrow from his chest. Angewomon hovered warily above him. 

Devimon grinned. "I was hoping one of you would be able to challenge me. Feel up to it my dear?" Angewomon smiled and hovered in place. Devimon's smile turned to a battle cry as he rushed forward with his claws outstretched. 

Angewomon waited until he was right on top of her to whip up her hand and release a stream of pink energy. "Heaven's Charm!" Devimon was hurled back by the force of the energy wave. He turned over several times in the air as he was thrown back and then righted himself and flew forward again fighting the repelling force of Angewomon's attack. Devimon beats his wings heavily, advancing slowly but surely, closing the distance between them. Angewomon responded by increasing the force of her attack. The pink energy poured from her outstretched hands in pulsing waves. The strain of maintaining the attack for so long was beginning to weaken her. Her wings beat rapidly to keep her in the air. Sweat rolled down her forehead and the force of the energy pouring from her caused her hair to fly back behind her. The closer he got to Angewomon, the slower Devimon moved, but he still continued to advance. From the rooftop, Kari and the others watched tensely. Kari resisted the urge to shout encouragement to her partner for fear it would break her concentration. Nearby, MagnaAngemon and Ekichumon stirred and took in the battle above them. Devimon was mere inches away from Angewomon and moving slower than ever. 

"We have to help her!", MagnaAngemon said urgently. The two of them took to the air shooting towards the pair locked in combat in the sky. 

At that moment, her strength drained, the energy pouring from Angewomon's hands simply cut off. Her eyes rolled up and she fell from the sky. Devimon sped her descent by swiping a clawed hand down and slashing it across her back. 

MagnaAngemon and Ekichumon tackled him a split second later. The three of them rolled through the air, a tangle of arms and legs. For a moment Devimon's body glowed with dark energy, then an energy field erupted from his body sending his opponents hurtling away. Both MagnaAngemon and Ekichumon righted themselves in midair and attacked again. MagnaAngemon's sword flashed into view and he dove forward driving it into Devimon's chest. Devimon merely laughed, driving his fists up and knocking MagnaAngemon away. 

"Dart Swarm!" Ekichumon's stingers pelted Devimon who seemed totally unaffected by the multiple needles which punctured his skin or the poison they contained. On the roof below, T.K. and Ken stood tensely side by side, their complete focus on the fight above. 

"Come on!", whispered Ken under his breath. 

"Bug Zapper!" Lightning flew from Ekichumon's hands striking Devimon with thousands of volts. 

"Pathetic insect!", cried Devimon smashing Ekichumon with an extended fist.. "This ends now!" MagnaAngemon's sword traced a circle in the sky above Devimon leaving a golden ring floating in the sky. "Gate of Destiny!" 

The glowing circle solidified into a golden band. The space within the ring seemed to warp as a powerful vacuum force began drawing Devimon towards the void forming within. For a moment it seemed as though Devimon was going to be pulled in by the suction of the gateway. Then he simply stopped moving and hung in the air several feet from the portal. He laughed as the air whipped around him but wasn't moved an inch. 

"I'm afraid playtime is over." Devimon's clawed hand shot into MagnaAngemon's vortex. The golden ring shattered and the portal within disappeared. MagnaAngemon cried out in pain. Devimon reached for the weakened angel but MagnaAngemon swept his sword forward. Devimon easily caught the blade and squeezing his hand around it, shattered the glowing weapon. Devimon's leg snapped up connecting with MagnaAngemon's jaw. The winged warrior lost consciousness and fell from the sky reverting to Patamon. 

"Look's like you've lost Takeru.", Devimon grinned at T.K. 

"It's not over yet!" Ekichumon tackled Devimon driving him into a nearby rooftop. Devimon struggled to regain his focus and Ekichumon's powerful fists hammered his head. 

"You're our last chance.", Ken whispered. "Please." 

"Enough!" Devimon whipped up his arms throwing Ekichumon off of him. The bug digimon leapt right back into the fray releasing a barrage of stingers into Devimon's face! 

"Dart Swarm!" Devimon howled as he was blinded by the needled filling his eyes. Ekichumon pressed his hands flat against Devimon chest as his entire body crackled with electricity. "Bug Zapper!" Electricity flowed into Devimon's body causing his arms and legs to convulse. 

From the shadows in the street below three figures watched silently as the battle raged. 

"Death Claw!" Glowing with deadly red energy, Devimon's arm forced Ekichumon away. Stunned by the contact with Devimon's claw, Ekichumon staggered. The momentary weakness was all it took to turn the tide of battle. Devimon leapt upon Ekichumon and wrapped his claws around the insect's neck. Devimon leapt up, dragging Ekichumon into the air with him. Ekichumon feebly struggled against Devimon's crushing grip. Finally, Ekichumon went limp and Devimon opened his claws dropping him. By the time Ken had reached his fallen partner, he had devolved into Wormmon. "It's my fault.", Ken realized. "I should have known better than to sent him against Devimon alone! If I'd DNA digivolved Stingmon with Exveemon, Imperialdramon might have been strong enough to win. But I let my anger, my desire for revenge, control me. Now everything may be lost." 

The six digidestined stared up as Devimon floated over them. "Now to collect my prize!" Bands of dark energy flew from Devimon's hands and encircled the humans, binding their arms and legs. They all struggled except for Ken who simply hung his head as he was restrained. 

"I'm sorry. It's my fault.", Ken whispered as they rose into the air. 

"Ken!" Yolei tried to reach out to him but her bonds held her tight. Ken couldn't even open his eyes to look at her. 

With a wave of Devimon's hand the defeated digimon were encased in black bubbles and rose to join their human partners. They struggled feebly, but were too weak to do any damage to their prisons. Devimon took off into the air, the captive humans and digimon following behind him. They floated behind him as he swooped through the hole in the side of his tower. As the last captive went through the hole, the sides of the opening began to regenerate. Within moments there was no trace of any damage where the hole had been. 

For a moment there was no movement in the street below and then, slowly, three figure emerged from a dark alley almost a block away from Devimon's tower. 

"Well, so much for that!", the girl with short red hair said in disgust. "Your heroes didn't do any better than we did Takato." 

A boy with ruffled brown hair stood staring at the tower with an expression of shock on his face. "How could they have lost?", he murmured in disbelief. "They're the digidestined." 

A second boy with short black hair hung his head. "Now what do we do?" The three were silent. 

"Gennai told us they could beat him.", the brown haired boy whispered desperately. 

The girl turned to him with a sneer. "Gennai is just a stupid cartoon character! And so were they! We should have known better than to put any faith in them!" 

The black haired boy stared thoughtfully at the tower. "Whoever they were Rika, they were real. But they couldn't stop Devimon. It's up to just us again." 

"In other words, we're screwed! I think we've already established that the three of us are even more worthless than those guys were!" 

"You're frustration is understandable Rika, but I wouldn't give up hope just yet." The three turned to see Gennai standing behind them. 

Rika rolled her eyes. "Oh great! You again! Looks like your champions didn't do so well! Any other strategies you'd like to share with us?" 

Gennai frowned sadly. "I thought that the digidestined would be able to defeat Devimon. But apparently his power has grown too strong for even them to handle." "Figured that out huh?", Rika snapped. 

"There is only one chance remaining. I will summon the other digidestined as I should have from the beginning. This time I am going to need your help. While I gather the others, you three will have to free your own digimon partners from Devimon's hold." The three young children stared at Gennai in shock. "You want us to rescue them on our own?", Takato cried! 

"Gennai, how could we possibly do anything to help them?" asked Henry, the boy with the black hair. 

"And even if we were somehow able to free our digimon, what good could we do? Devimon destroyed our digivices and cards! We're powerless!", Takato said. Gennai shook his head. "Whatever power you or your digimon have comes from you. The digivices are just extensions of your power, and you never needed the cards at all. When your digimon first digivolved, they did it without the cards. For you the cards are representations of your own will. They never possessed any more power than you gave them. They were merely a way for you to focus your strength and resolve. Your digivices were physical representations of the power that each of you has within you. You were not chosen randomly to become tamers. Each of you has a great power locked within you. The digivices acted as a channel for that power. They helped you, but you never needed them. And since they are a part of you, Devimon could never truly destroy them." Gennai cupped his hands together and a glow began to emanate from between his palms. When he opened them, three devices were sitting in his outstretched hands. 

"Our digivices!" Takato rushed forward and took one of the digivices from Gennai's hands. Henry and Rika followed his example. The three tamers examined the devices. 

"They're just like the originals.", Henry said. 

"Identical in every way.", replied Gennai. "And just so you don't feel like you're at less than full strength..." Gennai gestured and pouches full of cards appeared in the tamers' hands alongside their digivices. 

"Well all right!", Henry grinned. 

Rika smiled and clipped the pouch onto her belt. 

"Devimon is keeping your digimon in the same place as the people of the city he captured. They'll be guarded, but if you can free them from his control..." 

"We'll get another chance at kicking his butt!", Rika interrupted. 

"I can lead you to where they are being kept and then I must attend to my part of this endeavor." Gennai led the three children away. 

"Feeling better about our chances?", Takato asked Henry. 

"I'll tell you later.", Henry replied as they proceeded towards the fight of their lives. 

TO BE CONTINUED... 

****


	3. Evil Confronted

"How do you get it to do that?" 

Tai Kamiya looked in surprise at the girl sitting next to him in the lecture hall. The girl was staring intently at Tai and for a moment he was at a total loss. "Um, how do I get what to do what?" 

"Your hair! What do you use to get it to stick up like that?" 

Tai sighed and ran a hand through his hand through the thick spiky mass of brown hair on his head. As his hand passed over it the hair sprang back into its original position. "I don't really do anything.", he said rolling his eyes up towards his hair. "It's been like that since I was a kid." 

"Well it's pretty cute." 

Tai blushed and the girl giggled. "My name's Lori.", she said extending her hand. "Tai.", Tai took her hand and hoped she wouldn't notice that his was sweating. "So uh...", Tai stammered. 

"Do you live on campus?", she interjected. 

Tai nodded. "My pal Matt and I share a room in Tashi Hall. What about you?" "I have an apartment off campus with a few friends of mine. We're actually having a party tonight. Maybe you and your friend could come." 

Tai blushed again and smiled widely. "Sure. We'd love too!" 

"Great! Let me give you the address." Lori wrote out the name and street number on a sheet of paper and handed it to Tai. "Things won't really get started until eight, but if you wanted to come over a little early, we could..." Lori was interrupted by a beeping sound from Tai's backpack "What's that?", Lori asked, peering at the pack. 

Tai grimaced and reached into the bag bringing out something which he kept hidden in his hand. "Oh that's just my beeper.", he said with a forced tone of calm. I have to make a call but I'll see you tonight!" With that Tai grabbed his pack and ran from the room drawing several curious stares from the students around him and an annoyed look from the professor who had been teaching the entire time. 

Out in the hall Tai ducked into an empty room and opened his hand. Sitting in his palm was a small silver device with a tiny screen and a few buttons on it. A red light was blinking in the upper left corner of the screen. "Stupid digivice!", Tai growled. "This better be important!" Tai looked around the room and saw an old computer sitting on a table in the corner. "This ought to do." Tai held the digivice out and pressed it to the black screen of the computer. For a moment nothing happened and then there was a flare of light and Tai was gone. The computer screen remained black and silent.

Di Di Di...

Di Di Di...

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Change into digital champions, to save and defend the world!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Digivolve into champions! Warp Digivolve!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon!

****

Digimon: Digital Monsters

Digimon Tamers

EVIL CONFRONTED

"How could you!?" 

Matt winced at the sharp female voice. "Sora, Honey..." 

"Don't you honey me!" 

Matt sighed and resigned himself to the fact that this was not going to end well for him. 

"You promised me that we would go out this weekend! We've barely had a chance to see each other lately with all the work we've had to do for midterms! This weekend was supposed to be for us!" 

"I know. But the band got a job for Saturday night on short notice. I can really use the money and we could go out next weekend. I promise!" 

Sora spun around, tossing her short red hair. "You can shove your promises!" She had thrown open the door to Matt's dorm room and was prepared to storm out when a pair of beeping tones surprised both of them. Sora reached into her purse and pulled out a digivice. Matt retrieved a similar one from his desk drawer. "We are talking about this later!", Sora warned. Matt sighed and nodded.

* * * 

"Now, insert your scalpel into the abdomen directly beneath the breastbone." 

Joe groaned softly as he set the book aside and felt the blade in his hand pierce the flesh of the cadaver on the table in front of him. His knees began to wobble as a bit of fluid leaked from the incision. "Easy Joe.", he whispered to himself. "You'll never be a doctor if you can't even cut into a dead body. 

"Is there a problem Mr. Kido?" Joe looked up to see his biology professor standing next to him. 

Joe gulped. "Um, no! No problem! Just getting started." 

"Good. Don't let me interrupt." 

Joe turned back to the body in front of him. A look out the corner of his eye showed the professor watching him intently with his arms folded over his chest. Sweat formed on Joe's forehead as he attempted to keep his hand steady as he lowered the blade to the incision he had started. Joe swallowed as his arm seemed to freeze. "Come on.", he muttered. 

"I'm waiting Mr. Kido.", the professor glowered. 

Joe raised the scalpel slightly and prepared to try again. He was so focused on his hand and the instrument in it that he jerked his head up as a beeping sound echoed through the lab. The other students, busy with their own projects looked at him in annoyance. 

"Mr. Kido?" 

Joe smiled weakly as he pulled the digivice from his pocket. "Uh, I have to go." 

Joe's professor glared. "Mr. Kido. Do I need to remind you that this project counts for half your final grade and you only get to do it once." 

"I guess I'll have to do really well on the second half.", Joe said, putting the scalpel down with a sigh of relief. He bowed hastily to the professor and ran from the room! 

* * * 

"What is wrong with this thing?!" 

Mimi glanced up from her magazine to look at her roommate who was angrily jostling the brown leaves of the plant on the windowsill. Mimi turned back to her magazine. "I don't think it's getting enough light.", she replied absently turning a page. Mimi's roommate gave her an annoyed look. "Like you know anything about plants!" 

Mimi smiled slightly without looking up. "A little bit.", she said slyly. The other girl sniffed and stalked out of the room depositing the plant in the wastebasket on her way out. Mimi looked after her a moment and then reached into the wastebasket and pulled out the plant. She looked at it critically for a minute, then carried it into the bathroom. After filling a glass of water and pouring it into the soil, she walked back into the room. Mimi looked between the two windows on adjacent sides of the room and the placed the plant in a ray of sunlight on the sill across from where it had been before. She gave it an affectionate pat and then sat back on her bed and picked up her magazine. Mimi had only been reading for a minute when a beeping from her desk drawer caught her attention.

* * *

"Izzy, you need to get out more." 

Koushiro Izumi, Izzy to his friends, looked up from the computer screen he had been staring at. It was one of three monitors on the desk in front of him. "I do get out Lou. I just happen to be busy now.", Izzy replied turning back to his computers. 

Izzy's friend stood in the doorway of the room looking at him for a moment before realizing that Izzy no longer registered his presence. "All right that's it!" Lou grabbed the back of Izzy's chair and spun him around. "You're coming with the rest of us to the club tonight." 

Izzy struggled to turn his chair back around. "I can't tonight. I've got to finish this program." 

"Bull! You've already got your work for all of your classes for the next month done. Whatever this is, it can wait." 

Izzy sighed. "You ought to know that there's no such thing as being too far ahead at this school." 

Lou shook his head in amazement. "Just because we attend Harvard University doesn't mean we can't have any fun. Besides, you breeze through everything you do here anyway. I don't think it's possible for you to fall behind. You're going out with us tonight, and you're going to have some fun if I have to get the guys to drag you away from that computer!" 

Izzy reluctantly gave in and got up from his chair. "Fine. Give me a few minutes to get ready." 

Lou turned to leave. "We'll be waiting down the hall. And you'd better not bring that Laptop. Tonight is going to be one hundred percent work free." 

Once Lou had left, Izzy hit a few quick keystrokes and shut off the monitor. Stretching, he walked to his closet and pulled out a jacket. Heading for the door, he instinctively reached for the Laptop computer sitting on the able by his bed but quickly drew back his hand. "Maybe I do need more downtime.", Izzy thought with a smile. His hand was on the doorknob when a beeping sound from his pocket drew his attention. Izzy removed his digivice and turned back towards his computer, this time grabbing the Laptop and tucking it under his arm. "Well, I guess I will be getting out. But I doubt I'm going to get much of a chance to relax." 

* * *

"Willis!" 

Willis started awake and almost fell out of his bed. 

"I thought you took the semester off so you could raise money for your trip to Japan this summer! It's noon and you're still in bed and unless you've found a way to make money while you sleep...!" 

Willis ran a hand through his sleep tousled blond hair. "All right, all right!", he groaned. getting up slowly and avoiding his mom's glare. "I'm not even scheduled to work today mom." 

"Well that's still no excuse to sleep the day away! If you've got nothing productive to do there's plenty to do around the house! Terriermon and Lopmon have been helping me fold laundry all morning. The least you can do is help put it away." "Fine. Just let me get some breakfast." 

"Don't you mean lunch?", Willis' mom asked sarcastically as she turned and left the room. 

When Willis emerged into the kitchen his mom was at the table eating a bowl of soup. "There's more on the stove.", she said indicating a steaming pot. "Terriermon and Lopmon helped me make it. It's such a pity you can't be as helpful as your pets." 

Willis ladled some of the steaming broth into a bowl. "They're not pets, they're digimon.", he growled. 

"Well, they wonderful to have around the house. Especially considering that I get no help from you." 

Willis glared at the small white creature with huge flopping ears that pulled out his chair. "Traitor.", he mumbled. Terriermon's only reply was a grin and a wink. Another creature identical to Terriermon, except that his skin was brown instead of white and he had three small horns on his head where Terriermon only had one, entered the room holding a pile of folded towels. 

"Thank you Lopmon.", Willis' mom said with a smile patting the digimon on the head. 

"Hmmph.", Willis muttered. 

"Now, when you're done with lunch you can put the rest of the laundry away and then..." His mom was interrupted by the sound of Willis' digivice beeping. 

"Sorry Mom! I gotta take this call!" Willis bolted from the room with Terriermon and Lopmon right behind him. Willis' mom sighed and moved to pick up the laundry that Lopmon had dropped when he ran from the room. In his room Willis switched on his computer to find a message window waiting for him. 

"Hello Willis.", a digitized voice spoke to him as the same message was typed out on the screen. 

"Um, hi.", Willis said while typing "Hello" on the screen. 

"We need your help. Please hold your digivice up to the screen." Willis shrugged and placed his digivice against the computer screen. There was a flare of light and Willis and his twin digimon were gone. A moment later, Willis's mom poked her head into the room. 

She started as she noticed it was empty. "He is so grounded when he gets back." 

* * *

"What the hell do you mean you sent them out alone!?" 

The young man whom Tai had slammed against a tree frowned. "Time was of the essence Tai.", Gennai responded calmly. 

"You didn't even tell them what they were up against!", Tai cried. Behind Tai, the other digidestined, Matt, Sora, Joe, Mimi, Izzy, and Willis, stood uncomfortably. They seemed to be trying to decide whether to stop Tai or back him up. Tai had Gennai pressed against a tree and had a death grip on the collar of his white robes. 

"Given T.K. and Ken's personal past with Devimon, I thought it would do more harm than good if they knew ahead of time who their opponent was." 

Tai growled. "So you sent my sister into a fight with one of the most powerful evil digimon we've ever faced without any warning!" 

"I realize now that I made an error in judgment Tai. Please try to understand. Even I was uncertain what the nature of this new reality was. I only knew that Devimon had defeated the guardians of that world and captured a digimon who would allow him to increase his power exponentially." 

Izzy stepped forward. "What do you mean the guardians of that world? And what kind of digimon is this?" 

Gennai looked at Izzy over Tai's shoulder. "This reality had it's own team of digidestined." The others exchanged looks of surprise. "After his defeat a year ago, Devimon's data was reconstituted in primary village. Something allowed Devimon to gain access to a parallel reality which was connected to a level of the digital world just as yours is. In this world, digimon are able to draw power from human partners, just as they can on your earth. But there, for some reason, only digimon who are joined with human partners have the ability to digivolve. Devimon was able to come into contact with a human boy whom he corrupted and convinced to provide the means of his escape. He then used the properties of that world to draw power until he was able to digivolve into his natural form. When that happened, all of his former power was regained. The digidestined of that world attempted to stop him, but they proved unable to stand against him. Those digidestined had befriended a digimon who had a unique ability. This digimon possesses the power to allow other digimon to digivolve. Once Devimon finds a way to tap this digimon's power, he will digivolve and become stronger than ever. I felt it was necessary to send the younger digidestined to stop Devimon before he could get his hands on that power. but Devimon has grown stronger than he ever was before. The others were defeated and captured." 

Tai had released Gennai and was now glaring at him angrily. "Yeah, we got that last part. So now what? We throw ourselves at Devimon and get ourselves in the same position as Kari and the others?" 

"I realize now that none of you alone have the power to stop Devimon. Your mission will be first and foremost to rescue your fellow digidestined. I have also contacted the digidestined of this other world and have sent them to free their own digimon partners from Devimon's control. Only if all of you fight together, will you have the strength to overcome Devimon." 

"I assume we're on the clock? We still have to get to Devimon before he's able to digivolve even further.", Matt said thoughtfully. Gennai nodded. 

"Fine! Let's get going!", Tai cried impatiently. "Call Agumon and the others so we can get this done!" 

Matt knew how Tai felt. Matt's younger brother T.K. was among those captured by Devimon just as Tai's sister Kari was. But they weren't going to win if they let their emotions guide them. He hoped Tai would be able to calm down enough to be as effective a leader to them as he had been in the past. 

"Your digimon are gathered elsewhere.", Gennai said. "I will transport you all simultaneously to the same point in this alternate reality. You will be within the city that Devimon has taken control of near his base of power. Remember that you must not try to attack Devimon until you are rejoined with the others." They all nodded their assent. Gennai raised his arms and the air in front of them began to shimmer. The space between the digidestined and Gennai seemed to tear open to reveal a glowing hole in the air. "Opening these portals is draining. Once you are through it will be some time before I can retrieve you.", Gennai warned. 

Tai was the first into the portal. The others quickly followed leaving only Willis and his digimon. "I am going to be so grounded when I get back.", Willis sighed jumping through the portal with Terriermon and Lopmon right behind him. Once they were through Gennai sank to his knees and the portal faded away. 

The world seemed to warp around them. For a moment they seemed to float in space and then they felt the ground beneath their feet. In a moment the sense of vertigo wore off and they got their first look at their surroundings. They were on a city street that looked like it had been through a war. There were no other living things in sight. The doorways to the buildings around them had all been smashed in and there were few windows left intact anywhere. Storefronts were demolished. the entire scene was cast in an eerie red light which came from somewhere above. The red light was the only source of illumination as the entire sky was blocked by a dark obstruction. 

They had been joined by six creatures. Agumon, a small orange dinosaur was Tai's partner. Gabumon, a yellow lizard wearing a fur skin over his head and back was Matt's partner. Gomamon, a white furred digimon with flippers for feet was partnered with Joe. Mimi had Palmon who resembled a walking plant with a flower on her head. Sora's partner was Biyomon, a large pink bird. Hovering near Izzy was Tentomon, a red insect digimon. 

Willis glanced around nervously. Of all the digidestined, he had had the least experience with this sort of thing. He and his digimon had spent most of their lives in relative peace. Willis had first come into contact with the digidestined when he had met Izzy online years ago. Before that he had never known that there were other humans like him who had formed friendships with digimon. Willis had been thrown headfirst into the digidestines' world when the aftermath of a battle the digidestined had fought on the internet resulted in Lopmon being infected with a dangerous virus which had slowly corrupted him. Years afterward, when Lopmon had finally lost his mind, the newer digidestined, including Kari and T.K. had helped him to free Lopmon from the virus' control. Since then he had kept in sporadic contact with Izzy and various other members of the team. He had even helped Mimi and several other Digidestined from the United States a few years ago, when an evil digimon had attempted to take control of New York City. Other than that he and his digimon had little experience with battle. Willis only hoped he would be able to help in some way. He was not used to fighting with a team and aside from Izzy and Mimi, he had never even met the other digidestined with him now. He had agreed to Gennai's request for help because he felt he still owed the digidestined for helping to save Lopmon and because he couldn't bring himself to refuse to help the people of this world if he could. Terriermon and Lopmon seemed to have none of Willis' reservations and had already joined in a discussion with Gomamon and Biyomon.

"That's got to be Devimon's power-base.", Tai said, pointing towards a black tower which rose over the other buildings around it. He set off at a brisk pace and the others fell into step behind him. 

Matt smiled to himself. It had been a while since the six of the, seven including Willis, had been on the front lines. It was amazing how quickly they fell into their old roles. Tai had automatically taken charge and none of the others had thought to question it. Matt, himself walked right behind Tai, ready to back him up at a moment's notice. Izzy had his laptop computer in his hands and was puttering with some program or another. Of course some things had changed since the old days as well. Sora walked beside him with her arm lightly brushing against his. Their earlier quarrel had been forgotten for the moment. Joe and Mimi walked hand in hand and neither of them said hardly a word. Back in the old days, the two of them would have been complaining up a storm. Joe would be fretting over his allergies and Mimi would be stressing over the dust getting on her shoes. And of course there was the fact that T.K. wasn't with them. Matt had kept a better lid on his emotions that Tai, but it didn't mean he wasn't worried sick about his brother. Matt had been forced to accept long ago, that T.K. did not need his older brother looking over his shoulder every second to make it through life. Still, there were certain instincts that never went away. Matt had never failed to help his brother at a moment's notice if he needed it. As he walked, Matt prayed silently that T.K. was all right. And if Devimon had dared to hurt his brother, Matt would personally make him wish he had never been reborn. 

* * *

"Watch where you're walking Gogglehead!" 

"Sorry.", Takato whispered. It was the second time he had tread on the back of Rika's feet. But in the darkness, he was lucky he didn't walk right into her. He could barely make out the form of red headed girl in front of him. A flashlight would have been a great help, but they feared that the light might draw attention to them and that was the last thing they wanted. 

"I think we're almost there.", Henry whispered from behind Takato. "Gennai said we had to follow this tunnel for about a mile." 

"And lord knows, the great and powerful Gennai would never steer us wrong.", Rika said snidely. 

Takato sighed. Even after seeing people that they had thought to be only cartoon characters fighting for their lives with their own eyes, Rika had remained consistently skeptical. Takato couldn't really blame her. Gennai had promised them that the digidestined would be able to defeat Devimon and they had fared no better than Takato, Henry, and Rika had. Still, they had agreed to Gennai's new plan despite their own doubts. After Devimon had captured the city, his minions had rounded up every person they could find. Gennai had told them that the people had been imprisoned in an old subway station beneath the city until Devimon was ready to do whatever he planned to do with them. Their own digimon were being held with the citizens of the city and their mission was to free them and join the final battle against Devimon. The tunnel they were following was supposed to lead them right to where the people and digimon were being kept. But they would certainly be guarded. The chances of them standing against any of Devimon's followers alone seemed quite bleak. But even if they didn't trust Gennai, what choice did they have. Trying to free their partners was dangerous, but they certainly couldn't fight alone. 

After a short while they began to realize that they could see better. As they rounded a bend, the tamers could see shadows flickering on the wall of the tunnel ahead of them. 

"I think this is it.", whispered Henry. 

Within minutes they reached the end of the tunnel. It led into a large chamber which had once been a subway station. The tunnel leading away at the far end of the chamber had been bricked up. The stairway to the street was blocked off. Torches had been suspended from the walls at various points. They provided just enough light to keep the room from being in complete darkness. Lined up along the walls were the people from the city. They stood stiffly, and though their eyes were open, the showed no emotion. They could easily have been mistaken for mannequins, they were so lifeless. The three children took in the room silently. 

"Look at them all.", whispered Takato. 

Beside him Rika gasped. She pointed to an older woman with fading blonde hair along the wall closest to them. "That's my grandmother. We have to help her!" 

Henry grabbed Rika and pulled her back into the darkness of the tunnel before she could rush out. "Rika no! We're here for our digimon!" 

Rika struggled against Henry's grip. "I can't just leave her here!" 

"Rika, She's probably safer here than she would be if she came with us.", Takato said reassuringly. 

"I won't leave her like that!", Rika cried fiercely. 

"Takato is right!", Henry said. "Taking her with us would only put her in more danger. We're going right back to Devimon's doorstep once we get out of here." Rika was silent and stopped struggling in Henry's arms. "All of our families and friends are down here. The only way we can help them is to stop Devimon for good. I know how hard it is Rika. Believe me. But we have to be strong to get through this." Rika silently nodded and Henry released her. 

While Henry reasoned with Rika, Takato had been searching the room ahead. "Guys! There they are!" The others looked where Takato was pointing. On the far side of the room, they could faintly see three forms which were separated from the captive humans. They were bound in chains but seemed just as still and lifeless as the other prisoners. "We have to get to them!" 

Takato started to step forward but Henry yanked him back. "Takato, look!" Against the wall, behind the captive digimon, the row of mesmerized humans continued. But there was a gap between two of the people occupied by something considerably inhuman. It towered at least a foot over the people nearby. It's chest and arms were bare except for coils of chain which were wrapped around its pale blue skin. Its face was covered by a metal mask and spiky black hair stuck out from behind it. "That's Skullmeramon.", Henry whispered. 

Rika pulled her digivice from her pocket and consulted the information it gave her. "Skullmeramon. An ultimate level digimon whose entire body burns with white-hot flames. His attacks are Metal Fireball and Flaming Chain." 

"How do we get past him?", Takato asked. 

Henry thought for a moment. "I've got an idea. But, we're going to need someone to at as bait." 

"Who?", Takato asked. 

Rika and Henry both looked at him. For a moment Takato looked back and then he got it. "Oh." 

"Hey Big Guy!" 

At the sound of Takato's voice, Skullmeramon's eyes snapped open. Blue flames dances around his body as he stepped away from the wall. Takato stood in the entranceway to the tunnel in plain sight. "Come and get me!" 

"What the hell?", Skullmeramon muttered. 

"What are you waiting for? Come on tough guy!" 

Skullmeramon's eyes blazed. "Gonna mess you up for ruining my nap you little punk." The massive digimon stalked across the chamber towards Takato. 

At the tunnel entrance Takato glanced back and forth between Rika and Henry who stood in the shadows on either side of the entranceway. "I'm not sure this is a good idea.", he said. 

"You'll be fine.", Henry reassured him. 

"Just watch it! Here he comes!", Rika warned. 

Takato stood his ground as Skullmeramon came towards him. He stopped just outside the entrance to the tunnel and glared down at Takato. Takato looked up and gulped. "Um, hi." 

"You're toast kid." Skullmeramon raised a flame-covered fist and prepared to bring it down on Takato's skull. Takato spun and took off down the tunnel. Skullmeramon stood there with his fist raised for a moment. "Hey!" He took a few steps into the tunnel after Takato. At that moment, Rika and Henry jumped out of the shadows and sprinted across the chamber. Skullmeramon spun around in surprise. "Aw come on!" He looked for a moment between the retreating form of Takato and Rika and Henry who were halfway across the room. "I don't get paid enough for this.", he muttered. "Flaming Chain!" Henry was jerked back as a coil of chain shot from behind and wrapped around him, throwing him to the ground. Rika stopped short and looked back at him. 

"Keep going!", Henry shouted. Rika turned and kept running. 

Takato had stopped running and was cautiously making his way back. Skullmeramon heard him skulking up from behind and turned. Takato froze and prepared to run again. "Flaming Chain!" The chains from Skullmeramon's hand shot out and in a moment Takato was writhing on the floor. 

Skullmeramon turned back towards Rika. "You're next Girlie." Rika spared a glance behind her as Skullmeramon paced across the room. He was moving slowly, taking his time. Rika reached the end of the room and was face to face with the captured digimon. Held in the chains were a large red lizard with a white stomach, a small white creature with large flopping ears, and a yellow furred fox-like creature. 

"Renamon! Wake up!", Rika yelled to the fox digimon. Renamon's glassy stare did not waver. Rika shook her partner but was unable to have any effect. 

Skullmeramon grinned as he advanced slowly. "Give it up kid." 

"Come on Renamon!", Rika said under her breath. 

Skullmeramon chuckled, walking passed Henry who futilely struggled against the chains binding his arms. "Renamon, please. I need you.", Rika pleaded. With those words, her digivice began to glow. "Wha...", Rika looked at the device in her palm as the warm light washed over Renamon. 

"What now?", growled Skullmeramon. 

With a jerk Renamon came out of her trance. Her eyes focused on Rika and concern filled her face. "Rika.", she said weakly. "What happened?" 

With a sob, Rika threw her arms around her friend. "Renamon! You're okay!" "Flaming Chain!" Renamon's eyes widened with alarm. 

"Rika! Look out!" Renamon threw her weight against Rika toppling them both to the ground as the chain shot over them, striking the wall behind and barely missing one of the people standing against it. 

Skullmeramon glared and withdrew the chain. "Don't count on me missing twice ladies! Flaming Chain!" This time the chain struck towards Renamon. Rika gasped and tried to move to help her partner but Renamon had already flickered from sight leaving the empty chains that had held her on the ground. Skullmeramon's attack struck the mass of empty chains and shot back into his hand. "Where..." He was cut off as Renamon's foot struck his back. He grunted and turned in time to see her fist smash into his face. 

Seeing that her attacks did little to faze her more powerful enemy, Renamon leapt back and flung her arms outward releasing a hail of jagged light fragments. "Diamond Storm!" 

The attack pelted Skullmeramon but he barely flinched. "Cute trick! Check this out! Metal Fireball!" A blast of liquid metal spewed from Skullmeramon's mouth. Renamon vaulted into the air as the ground where she had been standing melted away beneath the blazing attack. 

Renamon flipped through the air and landed behind Skullmeramon. "Rika! I need your help!" 

Rika nodded and removed a card from her pocket. "Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!" She swiped the card downward through the slot on the side of her digivice and watched as both the digivice and Renamon erupted in white light.

**_D.I.G.I.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. _**

"Renamon digivolve to...!" Renamon's skin tore away until only a pulsating blue wire-frame of her body remained. As her body changed, new skin grew over her altered form. Where before she had walked upright, she was now on all fours. Her one tail had separated into nine, each tippled with a blue flame. Each foot was circled by a ring of blue fire. A silver mane surrounded her neck. "Kyubimon!" 

Skullmeramon stepped back. "Wow." 

"Kyubimon take him!", Rika cried. 

Kyubimon's body burst into blue flames. She charged at Skullmeramon as the flames around her body took the form of a dragon. "Dragon Wheel!" Kyubimon's fiery form slammed into Skullmeramon, knocking him back. As he struggled to recover, Kyubimon's body reverted to its natural form. Her tails spread and stood straight up. The flames on their tips flared up and launched a hail of fireballs at Skullmeramon. "Fox Tail Inferno!" 

"Hey! Quit it!", he cried as the fireballs pelted him. 

Throughout the battle, Henry had been struggling to free himself. He now noticed that the chains holding him began to loosen. "With Skullmeramon's concentration breaking, his control over the chains is fading.", he said to himself. Henry struggled upright and the chains simply fell away. Near the entrance of the tunnel, Takato had also freed himself. He got to his feet and sprinted across the room. 

"Flaming Chain!" Coils of chain wrapped around Kyubimon and tried to drag her forward. The fox digimon dug her feet into the ground and struggled to hold her ground. 

The chains holding the other digimon had fallen apart as well but they remained in their trance state. Henry knelt in front of the white dog digimon. "Terriermon, can you hear me?", he said softly. The small digimon gave him no response. "C'mon buddy. We really need you." Henry's digivice began to glow just as Rika's had. As the light hit Terriermon, life returned to his eyes. 

He looked around for a moment confused and then focused on Henry. "Henry?" "Welcome back pal!" Henry hugged his partner who returned the embrace with his large ears. 

"Momentai Henry." 

A cry of pain from Kyubimon drew their attention. With Skullmeramon's chains wrapped tightly around her body, Kyubimon was being dragged towards his fiery grip. "Back to work I guess.", quipped Terriermon. 

Henry drew out a card and positioned it in the slot of his digivice. "You ready?" Terriermon nodded. Henry slashed the card down. "Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"

**__**

D.I.G.I.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. 

"Terriermon digivolve to...!" Terriermon's skin stripped to the green wire frame underneath. He grew larger and bulkier. His new skin was the same pale tone as before but the skin around the top of his head was a shade of green giving the appearance of a mask. His thick legs were covered by a pair of blue jeans. His hands and lower arms were hidden beneath large gattling guns. "Gargomon!"

The newly digivolved champion leapt forward and brought one of his gun arms down on the length of chain between Kyubimon and Skullmeramon. "Bunny Pummel!" The chain snapped and Skullmeramon stumbled backward. Pressing the advantage, Gargomon unleashed the power of his guns on Skullmeramon. "Gargo Lasers!" The blasts rocked Skullmeramon knocking him back off his feet. 

Takato had reached the third and final digimon. "Hey Guilmon! Wake up boy!" The large red lizard continued to stare forward blankly. "C'mon Guilmon! You gotta get in there. They need your help!" Takato sighed in frustration as there was still no response. "It's dinner time." With a flash from Takato's digivice, Guilmon awoke. "Takatomon!", he cried joyously, tackling the boy in a bear hug. 

Takato laughed. "Glad to see you too boy!" 

"Can we have lunch now?" 

"Sure thing. We just need to take care of one little thing first." 

"Huh? What?", Guilmon asked. He followed Takato's eyes in the direction of the fight taking place a few yards from them. "Oh." 

"Let's do it buddy!" Takato pulled out his digivice and a card. "Digi-modify! Digivolution..." 

"Takato no!" Henry grabbed Takato's arm before he could slash the card through his digivice. 

"Henry, what are you doing?", Takato cried. 

"Guilmon's champion form is too big to battle in here! One misstep and he could crush some of these people!" 

Takato looked around, realizing what Henry was saying. Once he digivolved, Guilmon would be far too large to effectively fight in any kind of enclosed space, especially if he had to watch his step around all the captive people. "Looks like we'll have to do this without digivolving Guilmon." 

"No problem Takato!" Guilmon charged into the fray, knocking Skullmeramon away from Gargomon who had been struggling with a tangle of chains. 

"Fox Tail Inferno!" With Skullmeramon off balance, Kyubimon released a barrage of fireballs from her tails, fully knocking Skullmeramon off his feet. 

"Pyro Sphere!" Before he could recover, a red fireball flew from Guilmon's mouth smashing into Skullmeramon's face. 

"Keep him down!", yelled Henry. 

Skullmeramon struggled into a sitting position only to be knocked down again by a headbutt from Guilmon. "You guys are so dead!", Skullmeramon growled holding his midsection. 

"I don't think so! Gargo Laser!" The blasts from Gargomon's guns caused Skullmeramon to roar in pain. 

"Finish him!", yelled Rika. 

"Dragon Wheel!" Kyubimon's fiery body washed over Skullmeramon. The evil digimon slumped forward and disintegrated. 

With the battle over, Kyubimon and Gargomon collapsed, exhausted. They glowed faintly and reverted to Renamon and Terriermon. Rika and Henry ran to their partners. 

"Renamon are you okay?" 

The fox digimon eye's fluttered weakly. "I feel so drained." 

Terriermon slumped listlessly in Henry's arms. "Digivolving completely sapped my strength." 

Takato looked at Guilmon who seemed fresh and at full strength. "Why would digivolving take so much of their strength? It never has before.", Takato wondered. Henry thought quietly for a moment. "Do you guys remember a time when they digivolved that Calumon wasn't there?" 

Rika and Takato thought for a moment. "Weird.", Takato mumbled. "The little guy was always there." 

Rika snorted. "So what!" 

"I've suspected that Calumon had something to do with their digivolutions for awhile. Remember when Devimon said that Calumon was an evolution digimon?" "So...", Takao said slowly, "Calumon is a digimon who helps other digimon digivolve?" 

"I wondered if he actually had any power.", Rika said. 

"Without Calumon, our digimon can obviously digivolve, but it takes all of their strength to do it. And the longer they remain in their digivolved forms, the weaker they are afterwards." 

"Great! What happens if Devimon uses Calumon's power?", Rika snapped. Henry and Takato were silent as they contemplated what Rika had said. 

"If Devimon digivolves...", Henry said quietly. 

"We can't let that happen!", Takato cried. 

"And how do we stop him?! There's no telling how long it will be before Renamon and Terriermon will be strong enough to digivolve again." Rika's expression softened as she looked at Renamon who bodily leaning against her. 

"Guilmon hasn't digivolved yet. He's still at full strength.", Takato said hopefully. 

"Do you really think he can handle Devimon alone?" Rika gave Takato a disgusted look. Both Takato and Guilmon totally deflated. 

"We won't be alone. Gennai said he was getting the other digidestined.", Henry reminded them. 

Takato perked up. "That's right! They beat Devimon before!" 

Rika fully lost her patience. "That was just a cartoon! This is real life!" 

"So, apparently are they.", Henry said. 

"The only ones we can count on are ourselves.", Rika replied stubbornly. Renamon stirred and opened her eyes. "No Rika. You're not alone." "Whatever.", Rika muttered. 

"Look.", Henry finally said. "We don't have time to argue about this. We've got to meet the others at Devimon's tower. We'll figure something out, but we have to get moving." 

"Renamon can't even walk.", Rika pointed out. 

"I'll be fine." The yellow fox struggled for a moment and stood up, though she looked as though she would fall over any second. 

Henry picked up Terriermon, who was still half-conscious. "We've gotta go." The three tamers and digimon. made their way towards the entrance on the tunnel. Rika stopped to look at her grandmother who still stood against the wall with the other humans. "Maybe we should..." 

Henry placed a hand on her shoulder. "They'll be safe here. Even if we can wake her up, she'll be in more danger where we're going than she is here. We'll be coming back for all of them." Rika nodded. As Rika and Takato entered the tunnel, Henry lingered behind and stood staring at a young girl standing among the others. "I promise." He turned and followed after the others. 

* * *

Within the city of Shinjuku there was one building which stood nearly as high as Devimon's tower. The top of the building split into two towers giving the structure the appearance of a tuning fork. Deep beneath the building was a basement jammed with equipment. Within this room, a man bent over a table, feverishly working on something. His suit was wrinkled and sweat stained. Despite the fact that the only light in the room came from a bare bulb over the table, he wore a pair of sunglasses. Pausing in his work, he turned from the table and wiped a film of sweat from his forehead. He began to pace the narrow are between his workspace and the equipment around him. He pulled a silver lighter from his pocket and nervously flipped the top open and closed. There was a slight noise from somewhere in the room and he froze. Beneath the glasses his eyes peered into the shadows around him for a full minute. Finally he resumed his pacing. 

His name was Mitsuo Yamaki. He was an employee of the Bureau of Administrative Services. Years ago, he had been part of a group of scientists who had worked to create the world's first true artificial intelligence. After years of work, they had succeeded. Unfortunately, they had done their jobs too well. The programs they had created grew beyond their ability to be controlled. They began to show the potential to evolve and adapt far beyond their original parameters. The project had been shut down. The A.I.'s had been erased. Primitive versions of the programs had eventually been used to create children's video games. They had been dubbed Digimon. They became the basis for cartoons, toys, and trading cards. The group that Yamaki had been a part of had broken up and gone their separate ways. Yamaki believed that he had heard the last of his former project. But, years later he had received some startling news. Disruptions in computer systems all over the world had revealed that Yamaki's ill-fated artificial intelligence project had come back to haunt him. The programs that he had thought deleted had evolved even beyond the ability to be destroyed by conventional means. They had lived on. Thriving in the limbo of deleted data. They had grown and created their own reality from the discarded information of the world. The digimon had become far more than a child's toy. But that was not the worst part. Holes had begun to open between this digital world and the physical one. The data that escaped through these holes underwent a startling transformation. In the real world, these rogue programs took on physical form. Yamaki had been approached by the government and asked to head up a project which would find ways to contain and destroy these programs before they could do any damage. It was codenamed Hypnos. Yamaki oversaw the construction of equipment which could monitor the digital world and detect the gaps which formed between it and earth. But the purpose of Hypnos was not simply to monitor. Yamaki's goal was to find a way to destroy the digimon once and for all. To that end he had created the Juggernaut, a computer program that would pierce the barrier to the digital world and destroy it. Initial tests had proven successful. It would only have been a matter of time before the Juggernaut was complete. Meanwhile the appearance of digimon in the real world increased. There were even reports of children associating with the creatures. Obviously they couldn't see the danger these creatures represented. Yamaki had been days away from fully activating the Juggernaut when the city had been cut off. He had known immediately that the digimon were to blame. Nothing else had the power to achieve what was happening. His suspicions were confirmed when the monsters began raiding the city. People began to disappear. Yamaki had worked frantically to activate the Juggernaut but there was no power. When the Hypnos building had been attacked, Yamaki had been forced to flee his control center. It was the first time he had seen his creations in the flesh. He watched as the people he worked with were taken, kicking and screaming to god knows where. He alone had escaped. One of the guards had dropped his gun. Yamaki had taken it, prepared to fight his way out. One of the things had approached him and he had shot it. The bullets hit, and it bled. And then it died in front of him, it's body discorporating before his eyes. Yamaki had realized the truth. They were powerful, but in his world they were also vulnerable. He had hidden, waiting for them to leave. Then he had gathered the equipment he needed and secured himself in the building's sub-basement. In the days since, he had worked without rest. The device was nearly complete now. It resembled a bazooka but at the end of the barrel was a curved plate. He had begun to call it the neutralizer. If it worked as he hoped it would, the neutralizer would release a ray that would destroy digital material. It was the physical equivalent of a computer virus. A few adjustments and it would be complete. Then all he would have to do was test it. Yamaki smiled bitterly and continued to unconsciously flip the lighter. Soon, he would confront the fruits of his past labor. He would make them pay. Their false lives would end. And nothing would stand in his way.

* * *

"This would be much easier on you if you would cooperate." 

Calumon whimpered and turned away from Devimon's glaring red eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about.", he said in a small voice. Devimon snarled and slapped his clawed hand against the side of the small white digimon's face. Calumon cried out and tears spilled from his eyes. "Why are you being so mean?", he sobbed. 

"You have the power to induce digivolution! You will give me that power if I have to tear you open to get it!" Calumon continued to sob and Devimon growled in anger. His long talons clamped around Calumon and brought the little creature directly in front of his face. "Use your power to make me digivolve!" 

"I can't! I don't know how!" Calumon was practically hysterical now. "Why won't you leave me alone!?" 

"Perhaps the power is in your little crystal!?" Two of Devimon's fingers gripped the edge of the small, red, triangular crystal in Calumon's forehead and pulled on it violently. 

Calumon screamed in pain. "Stop!" 

"I will have the power you miserable little fool!" Suddenly Devimon froze and seemed to be listening to something only he could hear. His red eyes narrowed and a smile formed on his bloodless lips. "We have company." He turned back to Calumon with a ghastly grin. "It appears we will have to pick things up a bit."

* * *

"Looks like they rolled out the welcome mat." Surrounding Devimon's tower was a small army of digimon of all shapes and sizes. 

Matt frowned. "We've got our work cut out for us." 

Tai turned to Izzy. "What do we have?" 

Izzy consulted his laptop. "Let's see. Darklizamon, Bluemeramon, Deltamon, Knightmon, Warumonzaemon, Triceramon, and a whole bunch of Bakemon." 

Tai pulled out his digivice. "Let's do it guys. You ready Agumon?" 

The orange reptile nodded. "Mmm-hmm!" 

"Wait Tai!" Tai looked at Matt in surprise. "We can't waste all of our strength fighting these guys. We still have to face Devimon and whatever else is inside that thing. Sora and I will distract those guards and lure them away from the tower so the rest of you can get inside." 

Tai looked uncertain. "Are you sure you can handle them alone." 

"We only need to keep them busy long enough for you to get inside.", Sora replied. 

"All right. Let's go for it." 

This time Matt and Sora took out their digivices. "As soon as the way is clear, get in there." 

Tai nodded. "Good luck buddy!" 

Gabumon and Biyomon were enveloped in columns of light.

"Biyomon digivolve to...!" The little, pink bird grew considerably larger as her feathers turned deep red. Her beak lengthened into a mouth full of sharp teeth. "Birdramon!" 

"Birdramon digivolve to...!" Birdramon was enveloped in flames. Her new body was massive. Her arms were thickly muscled. Her feet were sharp talons. Her skin was deep red with a shock of white feathers over her chest. Huge yellow and red wings grew from her back. "Garudamon!"

"Gabumon digivolve to...!" Gabumon's fur coat morphed around his body as it grew. He was now a huge white wolf with black stripes across his fur. "Garurumon!" "Garurumon digivolve to...!" The beast digimon straightened and stood on his hind legs. His proportions became more human. Blue jeans covered his legs and spiked gloves formed over his hands. "Weregarurumon!"

The evil digimon charged forward and Weregarurumon and Garudamon charged forward to meet them. Leading the charge was a humanoid figure engulfed in blue flames. Just as they were about to collide, Weregarurumon jumped up and swung his leg into Bluemeramon's jaw knocking him back into the others behind him. "Garuru Kick!" Behind him Garudamon took to the air. "Wing Blade!" A blast of flame in the shape of a bird erupted from her wings and swooped down into the mass of digimon below. The flame bird struck the ground with an explosion that scattered Devimon's hordes. 

"Go!", Matt cried. 

With the other digimon disoriented, Tai, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, and their digimon ran towards the base of the tower. "Move you guys!", yelled Tai. Just as they reached the tower a group of Bakemon swarmed in front of them. "Take 'em!" 

Agumon and Tentomon moved in front of their human partners. 

"Pepper Breath!" A fireball from Agumon's mouth scattered the ghostly digimon. 

"Super Shocker!" Bolts of electricity shot from Tentomon's wings driving the Bakemon further away. 

Joe was examining the tower in front of them. "Tai! I don't see a door!" 

"Then we'll make a door!" Tai's digivice began to glow. 

"Agumon digivolve to...!" Agumon's size increased. Blue stripes formed over his orange skin. Thick brown skin grew over the top of his head as well as a pair of horns on either side of his head and one over his nose. "Greymon!" 

"Blow it open Greymon!" Tai pointed at the outer wall of the tower. 

"Nova Blast!" A huge fireball erupted from Greymon's mouth and slammed into the side of the tower blowing a hole in it. 

"Let's move in!", Tai shouted. 

"I'll stay here and cover you!", responded Izzy, as the Bakemon charged towards them again. 

"Super shocker!" Tentomon's electric attack stopped a few of the Bakemon but more were joining the assault. 

"Let's do it Tentomon! Digivolve!" 

"Tentomon digivolve to...!" Tentomon's body grew as deep blue and gray armor formed over it. Four wings beat the air behind him and a wicked horn grew from the black armor over his face. "Kabuterimon!" 

Tai, Joe, and Mimi entered through the hole in the tower with Greymon right behind them. 

Electricity charged along Kabuterimon's armored skin. "Electro Shocker!" Massive bolts of lightning shot from Kabuterimon's four hands. The Bakemon caught in the blast, instantly disintegrated and the others scattered in all directions. 

Once inside, Tai and the others were in nearly complete darkness. An opening in the top of the tower let in a thins shaft of red light but it barely reached the bottom of the tower. The inside of the tower was completely hollow and they could se all the way up to the top. 

"Now what?", Mimi asked, looking up. 

"We go up.", Tai responded grimly. 

A sound from the deep shadows around them caught their attention. From out of the gloom, two figures leapt. Their skin was black. They resembled dragons with long arms and glowing red eyes. "Devidramon!" 

"You two go! Gomamon and I will handle these things!", Joe shouted to Tai. "I'll stay and help you!", Mimi said moving to Joe's side. 

"No! We can deal with these things alone. Tai will need your help." Mimi looked at him fearfully. Joe kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Go. I'll be fine." Mimi nodded and moved to Tai's side. The Devidramon advanced on them. "You're up Gomamon!" 

"Gomamon digivolve to...!" Gomamon's short white fur turned to long shaggy hair. His size increased. Long tusks grew from his mouth and a horn sprouted from his head. "Ikakumon!" 

"Ikakumon digivolve to...!" The white hair fell out to reveal thick gray skin. His arms and legs bulged with muscles. A spiked green shell grew on his back and a massive hammer appeared in his hand "Zudomon!" 

The Devidramon charged and Zudomon swung his hammer knocking one back. the other jumped on his back and he struggled to throw it off. 

"C'mon Mimi! We're moving up!" 

"Greymon digivolve to...!" A metal sheath formed over Greymon's left arm. Metal panels formed over his chest. A metal helmet formed over his head and horns. A pair of wings emerged from his back. "Metalgreymon!" 

Tai, Mimi, and Palmon climbed onto Metalgreymon's back and he rose into the air. Mimi spared a glance downward towards Joe, but Tai kept his eyes focused above him. Metalgreymon ascended rapidly. The red light grew stronger but the walls around them were completely bare and unmarked. Far above, Tai spotted a dark shadow obscuring the light from the top of the tower. "I see it Tai.", Metalgreymon said responding to his partner's unspoken command. 

Without warning, a blast from above slammed into Metalgreymon. Tai held on but the impact knocked Mimi and Palmon from Metalgreymon's back. Mimi screamed and her digivice began to glow. 

"Palmon digivolve to...!" Her mass increased and thousands of quills erupted from hr skin. She now resembled a large cactus wearing red boxing gloves. "Togemon!" "Togemon digivolve to...!" Togemon's body split open to reveal a human sized woman wearing a pink dress. A flower blossom covered the top of her head and her hair looked like spiky green vines. A pair of nearly transparent wings moved so fast they were almost impossible to see. "Lillymon!" 

Lillymon caught Mimi and rocketed upwards with her. Seeing that Mimi was all right, Tai and Metalgreymon turned their attention towards the source of the attack. Devimon swept down at them from above. "I was wondering when you would show up." 

"Where's my sister?!", Tai yelled in fury. 

Devimon smiled. "You'll be joining her shortly." Tai noticed that Devimon clutched something small and white in his hand. Devimon looked at the object in his hand with disdain. "This pathetic creature will have to wait until after I've dealt with you." Devimon flung Calumon against the wall of the tower. As soon as his little body touched the wall, black tentacles sprang from the wall to envelop him. 

"Death Claw!" Devimon's arm shot forward. Metalgreymon dodged to the side but, the clawed hand struck a glancing blow to the side of his head. 

"Take him down!", Tai commanded his partner. 

"You got it! Giga Blaster!" The panels on Metalgreymon's chest swung open and a pair of missiles launched outward. The missiles struck Devimon and the explosion rocked the tower. Devimon shot out of the cloud of smoke from the explosion showing no apparent damage. 

"Fool! You'll find me far more powerful than when we last met! Once all of you Digidestined are mine I will drain your energy and my power will unstoppable!" 

"Never gonna happen!", yelled Tai. 

Below the fight, Lillymon hovered with Mimi in her arms. "I've got to help!", the winged digimon said urgently. She looked for a moment and a saw a slight outcropping on the side of the tower wall. Lillymon set Mimi set down gently on the protrusion. "Will you be all right?" 

Mimi smiled. "I'll be fine. Go help Tai." 

Lillymon shot up, a large flower forming in her hands. She pointed the blossom of the flower at Devimon and a green energy burst shot from it. "Flower Cannon!" The blast hit Devimon in the back but he barely flinched. 

"Razor Wing!" A hail of razor sharp projectiles flew from Devimon's wings. The barrage hit Lillymon, shredding her skin and destroying her delicate wings. With a scream of pain, she fell from the sky, reverting to Palmon. Seeing her partner fall, Mimi panicked. She leaned out as far as she could. Palmon fell into her arms but her added weight made Mimi lose her balance and stumble off of the ledge she was sitting on. She screamed. Instinctively, one arm shot up and grabbed the edge of the protrusion she had sat on. Mimi hung there with Palmon in one arm. Her grip was already loosening. Above, Tai and Metalgreymon were locked in combat with Devimon. Her fingers began to slip and she released another scream. 

Far below, Zudomon grappled with the Devidramon while Joe anxiously watched from the sidelines. When he heard the screams echo through the tower his head shot up. "Mimi!"

* * *

It had taken time, but Willis, Terriermon, and Lopmon had made a wide circle around to the opposite side of the tower as the battle with Devimon's guards. Now, facing the base of the tower they looked up towards the peak far above them. It had been Tai's plan. While the rest of them had distracted Devimon and his forces, Willis and his digimon would infiltrate the tower and free the captured digidestined. As Willis examined the tower, he realized that this was easier said than done. There was no visible doors or windows. His digimon could probably blast their way in, but that would draw too much attention considering that this was supposed to be a stealth mission. "Either of you guys have any suggestions?", he said turning to his two digimon who seemed just as perplexed as he was. 

"Maybe we could climb it.", suggested Lopmon. 

"I don't know. It's pretty steep.", Terriermon said doubtfully. 

"Maybe we can help." 

Willis spun in surprise at the voice behind him. Three kids about thirteen tears old stood staring at him. Each of them had a digimon with them. The girl had a Renamon, and the boy wearing the goggles had some kind of red lizard that Willis had never seen or heard of before. The surprise was that the black haired boy had a Terriermon sitting on his shoulder. 

"Wow! It's Willis!", Takato said excitedly. 

"Who the heck is he?", Rika asked. 

Takato looked at her in surprise. "Willis! The digidestined from America. You know? He was in the third movie." 

Rika snorted. "I didn't see it." 

Henry's Terriermon had hopped to the ground and was staring curiously at Willis's Terriermon. Willis' digimon returned the stare. One raised his arm and the other did the same. One raised his ears and the other mirrored the movement. 

"Neat.", Willis' Terriermon said. 

"Cool.", Henry's Terriermon responded. 

Henry's Terriermon now turned his attention to Lopmon. "What are you? A Chocolateterriermon?" 

Lopmon smirked. "Like I've never heard that one before." 

"All right!", Rika snapped. "If we're done comparing our bunnies..." "Actually...", Willis's Terriermon piped up. "Lopmon's a bunny. I'm a dog." Rika rolled her eyes. "Whatever." 

"So, what was this about a movie?", Willis asked. 

Takato and Henry looked at each other. "In our world, you and the other digidestined are cartoon characters. We've watched your lives on television and we've seen all of your adventures." 

"Up until the battle with Malomyotismon.", Takato added. "And technically, we've only seen you in a movie. And it was supposed to be out of continuity with the rest of the show, but I guess that wasn't exactly right since you're here and obviously you know the other digidestined." 

Willis blinked. "I'm sorry, but, what?" 

Takato took a deep breath. "Well you see, there were a couple of movies based on the Digimon cartoon and the first two were supposed to fit with the show, but the third was kind of a stand-alone story. It sort of took place during the second season and it was about the newer digidestined helping you to free Cocomon from the virus that had turned him evil and...there you go." 

Willis was taking it all in. "Wow. That is weird. But all that stuff you talked about happened over five years ago." 

"Apparently, the cartoon was out of sync with the timeline of your reality.", Henry explained. 

"Oh.", Willis said. "Of course. I'm sorry, but this is all a bit much." 

Takato grinned. "Hey, from our point of view you're a walking, talking cartoon character. Imagine how weird this is for us." 

Rika made a sound of impatience. "Enough already! We can talk about all of this later! Right now there's the matter of the big evil digimon and the fact that he's taken over our city and imprisoned out families." 

"Rika's right.", Henry said. 

Willis turned to the tower. "Tai told me to find a way into the tower so I could free the other digidestined." 

"That was pretty much our plan too.", Henry responded. 

"I haven't been able to find any way in yet.", Willis said. 

"There's a hole in the top.", Henry pointed upward. "We just have to get up there." 

Willis looked doubtful. "Terriermon and Lopmon can glide, but they can't really fly. I don't see any wings on your digimon." 

Takato and Rika pulled out their digivices. "Not yet." 

"Digi-modify! Hyper Wing Activate!" Glowing white wings appeared on Guilmon and Renamon's backs. 

Willis was stunned. "Cool." 

Renamon put one arm around Rika and the other around Henry. Guilmon did the same for Takato and Willis. Henry held his Terriermon in his arms and Willis did the same for his Terriermon and Lopmon. "Let's go!", shouted Takato. 

Renamon and Guilmon shot into the air with their passengers in tow. It was rather slow going due to the weight that the digimon were carrying, but in a matter of minutes they had were hovering over the roughly circular opening in the top of the tower. Faint sounds of battle could be heard from below. "Take us down slowly.", Henry instructed. 

"I'm afraid we may have to drop quickly.", Renamon said quietly. 

"Why?", Willis asked. Then he noticed that the wings on Renamon's back were flickering. 

Henry twisted his head and saw the same thing. "Uh-oh." 

Renamon began to wobble in the air. "I'm sorry Rika. I must be weaker than I thought." 

The wings disappeared and Renamon, Rika, and Henry fell downward. Terriermon's small toes gripped Henry's shirt and his ears fluffed out acting as a parachute, slowing their fall. "Go!", Willis shouted. His digimon leapt into the air and fell towards Rika and Renamon who were seconds away from bashing into the top of the tower. Terriermon grabbed Rika and spread his ears. Lopmon did the same with Renamon. The three of then angled their descent to take them through the opening in the tower. 

"Follow them Guilmon.", Takato said. Guilmon lowered himself after the others. 

They all came to rest on a small platform jutting out from the wall just below the hole. Renamon was barely conscious. 

"What happened to her?", Willis asked with concern. Rika just glared at him. Willis turned away. "Sheesh." 

Takato and Guilmon were looking over the edge of the platform. Flashes of light from below illuminated the battle between Metalgreymon and Devimon. "Wow. It's Metalgreymon.", Takato whispered. 

Willis joined him. "Tai's keeping Devimon busy, but I don't know how long he can last." The sound of a scream floated up towards them. "That sounded like Mimi!", Willis cried. 

"Renamon and my Terriermon are too weak to digivolve, and none of our digimon can fight effectively in the air. Our only chance is to free the other digidestined.", Henry said. 

"Do you know where they are?", Willis asked. 

"Check that out." Henry pointed downward. Several yards below them, twelve rounded shapes bulged out of the side of the wall. They were suspended a foot above a larger platform. 

"What are those?", Willis asked. "Cocoons?" 

"We'd better get down there.", Henry replied. "Takato, you stay here with Rika and Renamon." 

"I don't need a babysitter!", Rika snapped. 

"Renamon is in no shape to protect you if anything happens. Takato and Guilmon can keep you both safe if there's trouble." Rika knelt by Renamon and didn't look at any of the others. Henry and Willis grabbed the legs of their respective Terriermon, and began to float down to the platform below. Lopmon followed under his own power. 

Once on the platforms, they examined the forms protruding from the wall. "These definitely look like some kind of cocoons.", Henry examined. 

"So how do we open them?", Willis asked. 

"Our digimon could blast them open, but it might hurt whoever's inside." 

Willis felt the surface of one of the cocoons. "I've got an idea. Lopmon?" Lopmon nodded. "Blazing Ice!" A blue bolt of energy launched from Lopmon's mouth and struck the nearest cocoon. The surface of the cocoon was instantly covered by a layer of frost. 

"Hope this works.", Willis commented. He drew back his fist and slammed it into the side of the cocoon. The material cracked and a large portion of it shattered. Willis gripped the edge of the hole he had made and pulled. Another large piece of the cocoon came apart in his hands. They could now see the inside of the cocoon. A girl Willis' age with purple hair and a pair of black glasses was inside. "Yolei!", Willis cried, tearing away more of the brittle material. Yolei's body slumped forward, unconscious. Willis kicked away some of the lower portion of the cocoon and gently pulled her out. Henry helped Willis lay her flat on the surface of the platform. For a minute she lay still, and then with a sharp intake of breath, her eyes snapped open. She sat up slowly with help from Willis. 

"What happened?", she moaned. 

Only the tips of Mimi's fingers clung to the ledge above her. Palmon hung, still unconscious from her other arm. Her fingers finally slipped another inch and for a moment her fingers scraped the side of the overhang. Then she was in freefall. Holding Palmon tightly against her, Mimi screamed as she fell. On the ground Joe saw her falling form hurtling towards her and pure panic flooded him. 

Feeling a rush of energy, Zudomon swung his hammer, smashing both the Devidramon that had clung to him and sending them hurtling into a wall where they disintegrated. Sensing Joe's feelings, Zudomon's eyes darted upward spying the form of the small girl falling towards them. Tensing his massive legs, Zudomon propelled himself upward. He was unable to jump very high relative to his size , but his outstretched palm still caught Mimi and Palmon. He focused on keeping the muscles in his hand as loose as possible to make the impact easier. Once Mimi and Palmon were in his hand, he loosely curled his finger around them. His body began to drop. Zudomon focused on keeping his arm close to his body to absorb the impact and on not clenching his hand as he hit the ground. Despite the short jump, the impact when Zudomon hit the ground rocked the foundation of the tower. Cracks spread up the sides of the structure and just as quickly, disappeared. 

Outside, Kabuterimon had dispatched the Bakemon and joined Garudamon and Weregarurumon in fighting Devimon's minions. Warumonzaemon, a digimon resembling a large black teddy bear grappled with Kabuterimon, forcing him to the ground. "Little help!", Kabuterimon gasped. 

"Wolf Claw!" Weregarurumon's claws tore Warumonzaemon away. The evil digimon hit the ground and disintegrated. 

"Need a boost Kabuterimon?", Izzy called. 

"The bug digimon grinned as best as his segmented mouth allowed. "Couldn't hurt!" Izzy's digivice began to glow brightly. 

"Kabuterimon digivolve to...!" Kabuterimon's body was covered by a new layer of red armor. His wings grew together into a shell on his back. His spiked horn grew into a large pronged one. "Megakabuterimon!" 

With a flurry of martial arts attacks, Weregarurumon hoarded the remaining enemies into a group. 

Flames flew from Garudamon's wings. "Wing Blade!" 

An extremely powerful electric blast lanced from Megakabuterimon's horn. "Horn Buster!" 

The two attacks converged on the huddled evil digimon. With an explosion that shook the whole area, the dark digimon were blown to dust. 

"All right. Now that that's over let's get in there and help Tai and the others!", Matt shouted. The three ultimate digimon and their partners ran towards the tower. They had only gone a few steps when Metalgreymon smashed through the side of the tower high above them and plummeted to the ground. The impact tremor knocked the digidestined off of their feet. 

A moment later, Devimon soared through the hole Metalgreymon had been thrown through. "Ah! At last I have the rest of you!" 

"No way!", cried Matt. 

Garudamon and Megakabuterimon flew into the air and charged Devimon. "Death Wave!" Black energy from Devimon's hands washed over them. They screamed in agony as their muscles contorted. They fell from the sky, reverting to Biyomon and Tentomon. Devimon crossed his arms and grinned. "Next?" 

Weregarurumon sprinted forward. "That'd be me! Garuru Kick!" As Weregarurumon's leg slashed forward a wave of red energy flew from it at Devimon. Devimon watched with a smile as the energy approached him. Casually he stuck out his hand and the attack evaporated against it. 

Devimon floated lazily to the ground. "Perhaps you'd like to spare yourself the pain and just surrender?" Weregarurumon roared and charged. Devimon grinned. "Good. Death Wave!" The dark energy struck Weregarurumon causing him to collapse in pain. After a moment, he lost consciousness and reverted to Gabumon. "It's over digidestined. I have waited far too long for this." 

Matt, Sora, and Izzy moved in front of their wounded partners. "Stay away from them!", Matt cried defiantly. 

"Oh please. Death..." 

"Vulcan's Hammer!" Devimon spun and stuck out a hand as Zudomon's hammer swung towards him. The hammer bounced back as if it had hit an invisible barrier. Zudomon fell back in surprise. Behind him, Joe struggled out of a hole in the tower supporting an unconscious Mimi and a severely wounded Tai. 

"Razor Wing!" Shards of darkness pelted Zudomon, cutting into his skin. Zudomon bellowed in agony and reverted to Gomamon. "And now I have all of you in one place! I will feast on the life force of you and your digimon! Then I shall do the same to the pathetic inhabitants of this city! Then I shall suck the rest of this planet dry!" 

"Not a chance!" Devimon whirled in shock! Before him were T.K., Patamon, Kari, Gatomon, Davis, Veemon, Ken, Wormmon, Yolei, Hawkmon, Cody, Armadillomon, Willis, Terriermon, Lopmon, Takato, Guilmon, Rika, Renamon, Henry, and his Terriermon. 

"Take a break guys. The cavalry is here.", said Davis. 

"Kari.", Tai said weakly. 

"Now it's our turn Devimon!", T.K. said. The digivices of the seven digidestined began to glow.

"Patamon! Let's do this!" 

"Patamon digivolve to...!" Patamon's small, round body grew into a human form with white skin a three pairs of feathery wings. "Angemon!" 

"Angemon digivolve to...!" Armor formed over Angemon's body and a fourth pair of wings sprouted from his back. "MagnaAngemon!"

"Be careful Gatomon!" 

"Gatomon digivolve to...!" Gatomon became a human woman wrapped in white silk with four pairs of wings. "Angewomon!"

"Kick his ass Veemon!" 

"Veemon digivolve to...!" Veemon's body grew and muscled formed under his blue skin. A silver V marked his chest. "Exveemon!"

"Good luck Wormmon." 

"Wormmon digivolve to...!" Wormmon became an armored green warrior with buzzing insectile wings at his back. "Stingmon!"

Davis turned to Ken and held out his hand. "You ready partner?" 

Ken nodded and took it. "Yeah. Let's do it right this time." 

"Exveemon!" 

"Stingmon!" 

"DNA Digivolve to...!" The two digimon merged together into an armored warrior with a pair of long guns hooked to his waist. "Paildramon!" 

"Go for it Hawkmon!" 

"Hawkmon digivolve to...!" Hawkmon became a giant bird of prey with curved horns protruding from his head. "Aquillamon!"

"Armadillomon!" 

"Armadillomon digivolve to...!" The small, shelled armadillo became a huge, spiked dinosaur. "Ankylomon!"

"Time to prove ourselves guys." 

"Terriermon digivolve to...Gargomon!"

"Lopmon digivolve to...!" He was now the same height as Gargomon but much thinner. His skin was a light shade of purple and his head still bore three small horns. He wore a sleeveless yellow jumpsuit with a blue bandana tied around his neck. On his hands was a pair of red gloves. Strapped to each hand were a pair of collapsible blades. "Turuiemon!"

"I'm going in guys!" 

"Give him one for me Gogglehead.", Rika said with a smile. 

"Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"

__

"D.I.G.I.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N."

"Guilmon digivolve to...!" Guilmon's skin stripped away to a red wire frame. He grew taller and a pair of horns sprouted from his head. A mane of silver hair grew on the back of his head. "Growlmon!"

"Who are they?", asked Sora indicating Takato, Rika, and Henry. 

"They must be the digidestined from this earth.", responded Matt. "I'd love to analyze one of their digivices.", said Izzy. 

"Better wait until we're done here.", Matt replied. 

Ankylomon and Aquillamon lead the charge. "Blast Rings!" Rings of energy from Aquillamon's mouth flew at Devimon. With a flap of his leathery wings, he shot into the sky avoiding the attack completely. 

"Spike Barrage!" The bony spikes on Ankylomon's shell pelted Devimon who simply laughed. 

"This is not going well.", Cody said fretfully. 

"I have an idea.", Ken said. "Kari, have Angewomon distract him. Then, T.K., MagnaAngemon forces him into Paildramon's path." 

"Worth a try.", T.K. replied. Kari and Davis nodded. 

"Celestial Arrow!" Half a dozen glowing, white arrows struck at Devimon. He smoothly evaded them with little effort. But, in focusing on Angewomon's attack, he failed to notice MagnaAngemon coming from behind with his laser sword pointing straightforward. Devimon's acute senses heard the beating of MagnaAngemon's wings at the last moment and he dove to the side. MagnaAngemon's blade missed him by inches. 

"Desperado Blaster!" Diving to the side took Devimon directly into the path of the fire from Paildramon's guns. The rapid-fire laser bolts pelted the demon, but aside from disorienting him for a moment had little affect. 

"This isn't working!", Davis cried. 

"We can hit him, but our digimon aren't strong enough to hurt him.", T.K. said in frustration. 

Izzy used his computer to bring up information on Devimon. "His stats are completely different from the last time we faced him. His strength, defense, and attack are off the charts! He's only at the champion level, but his power surpasses most megas." 

"If he were to digivolve...", Joe began. 

"He would be truly unstoppable.", Izzy finished. 

"Gennai said that Devimon had found a digimon that would help him to digivolve.", Matt said. "We have to find that digimon and get it away from here." 

Henry and Rika overheard this conversation. "He must be talking about Calumon.", Henry said. 

"So where is that little powderpuff?", Rika asked. 

"He must still be in the tower." 

"Then we have to find him." 

No matter how the digimon attacked, Devimon shrugged off their attacks and struck at them at his leisure. At the moment he had formed his hand into a blade and was matching wits with MagnaAngemon's sword fighting skills. The angel digimon moved too fast for the humans below to track his movements but Devimon easily parried every thrust, and showed no signs of stress. Seeming to grow bored with the contest, Devimon knocked MagnaAngemon's sword out of the way and struck his fist against the angel's jaw. MagnaAngemon lost consciousness and fell from the sky. 

Aquillamon came at him from above but Devimon dodged and slashed his claws across the giant bird's throat. With a strangled cry, Aquillamon lost control and hit the ground. 

"Tail Hammer!" Devimon's hand deflected Ankylomon's spiked tail. 

"Demon Blast" A surge of green energy slammed into Ankylomon cracking his shell. "Three down.", Devimon said with a smirk. 

"Take him!", Willis cried. 

Gargomon and Turuiemon charged forward. "Gargo Pellets!" Devimon simply stood still as the fire from Gargomon's guns pelted him. 

"I got him bro!" Turuiemon performed a series of black flips, the last of which took him sailing over Devimon. As he hit the ground behind the demon, his blades sprung out. "Bunny Slash!" With a flash of steel, Turuiemon's blades cut across Devimon's back. Four tears crossed the back of Devimon's leather wraps but the white skin beneath was unmarked. Turuiemon faltered. "Well that didn't work." Devimon spun with his claws extended. Turuiemon nimbly leapt over Devimon's slash slamming his feet down on top of the demon's head and using the impact to execute a somersault over his head. Landing behind Devimon once again, Turuiemon went into a crouch sweeping his leg into the back of Devimon's knee. The thin leg proved stronger than it looked. Devimon didn't buckle an inch and was already whirling to drive his claws into the ground where Turuiemon stood. But the rabbit was already cartwheeling out of the way. Devimon's attack was lightning quick but Turuiemon avoided it easily. Two back flips away gave him enough space to launch his next attack. "Fury Cutter!" Turuiemon's body flew forward with his arms slashing randomly in every direction. Even Devimon was unprepared for the frenzied assault. The whirling blades shredded his black wrappings but as before, his skin was invulnerable to harm. With a cry of rage he flung his arm forward and sent Turuiemon hurtling away. The blow was only glancing and Turuiemon landed on his feet and skidded backwards. In a moment he regained his balance and leapt forward again. 

"Wow. Look at him go.", remarked Sora. 

"I thought that Wendigomon was Lopmon's champion form.", said Davis. 

"That was when he was controlled by the Diaboromon virus.", explained Izzy. "Turuiemon is his natural evolution. According to the analyzer's data he is incredibly fast and agile. What he lacks in brute strength he makes up for with skill and stamina."

"Bunny Slash!" Devimon met Turuiemon's thrust and locked his claws against the smaller digimon's blades. For a moment Turuiemon was stuck and that was when Devimon's other claw whipped around glowing with red energy. "Death Claw!" The vicious blow struck Turuiemon in the head but he rolled with it and managed to take only a minor hit. Devimon swung again and this time would have taken Turuiemon's head off if Gargomon's gun arm hadn't swung in and deflected it. 

Devimon was thrown off for a second and in that moment a hail of heavy blows landed on his head. "Bunny Pummel!" Slightly disoriented, Devimon took a step back and was met with a leaping kick to the chin by Turuiemon. Before Devimon could even bring his head back up from the whiplash of the kick he was hammered by bullets from Gargomon's arm guns. "Gargo Pellets!" 

The other digidestined had fallen back to watch the furious battle between Devimon and Willis' digimon. "It's amazing how well they fight together.", Izzy marveled. 

"They've lasted longer than the rest of us put together.", Matt noted. 

"They're the perfect team.", Ken said with awe. 

By this time Turuiemon and Gargomon were becoming winded. Turuiemon's speed and hit and run tactics allowed him to stay one step ahead of Devimon and land a number of hits himself. While not as fast as his brother, Gargomon took advantage of any opening to get a shot in. But despite their superior abilities, they were simply not strong enough to do any real damage to Devimon. Despite the multiple attacks they had inflicted, their enemy was unhurt and they were wearing themselves out. 

"Time for the trump card.", Willis whispered to himself. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gold pendant with a piece of amber crystal imbedded in it. As he clutched his hand around it, the small object began to glow. 

"What is that?", Takato asked. 

Mimi exchanged a knowing smile with Willis who returned the expression. "The Crest of Caring. Go get 'im guys."

"Gargomon digivolve to...!" 

"Turuiemon digivolve to...!"

Gargomon's body grew taller and thinner as it was covered by golden armor. A pair of rockets was attached to his back and his arm guns were replaced by a pair of long-barreled cannons. Encased in armor, his huge ears stuck straight out and resembled a pair of golden wings. "Rapidmon!"

Turuiemon body shot up in height. The purple parts of his skin turned a light shade of brown. His long, thin ears drooped far down his back. His head still bore the three distinctive horns. "Antylamon!"

Takato was confused. "I thought that Willis' Terriermon golden armor digivolved to Rapidmon. How can it be his ultimate form too?" 

"When Willis used the golden digi-egg, Terriermon wasn't ready to digivolve to ultimate.", Mimi explained. The egg acted as an artificial power booster to give him access to an evolutionary stage he couldn't have accessed on his own. Willis always had his crest but it took time for him to be able to power it on his own. During an adventure a few years ago, Willis was able to energize his crest and allow his digimon to naturally digivolve to ultimate." 

"Wow. I guess I don't know as much about you guys as I thought.", Takato said.

Blocks away, Yamaki was slowly making his way towards the tower. He heard the sounds of battle and it made him more suspicious than ever. He kept to the darkest shadows, avoiding any light all together. The Neutralizer was strapped to his back. From the direction of the tower came a particularly loud noise and he felt the ground shudder slightly beneath his feet. "Have your fun monsters.", he whispered under his breath. "Your time is almost up."

Having partially recovered from her exhaustion, Renamon was slowly teleporting her way up the inside of Devimon's tower. After each jump, she stopped to rest for a moment on the protrusions sticking out from the walls. At each stop, she scanned the area around her for any sign of Calumon. Below, Rika, Henry, and Terriermon looked up anxiously. 

"Any sign of him?", yelled Henry. 

"She'll let you know if she finds him.", Rika said rudely. 

Halfway up, something caught Renamon's eye. Something white amid the utter darkness of the tower walls. Judging the distance, she teleported to the wall near what she had seen. As soon as she materialized, her claws dug into the wall, keeping her steady. A few feet to her right, she saw that her keen eyesight had paid off. Calumon was bound to the wall by a material similar to the cocoons which had held the other digidestined. He was awake, but his eyes were closed and he was sobbing softly. Using her claws, Renamon climbed along the wall to where the little digimon was secured. "Calumon.", she said softly. 

Calumon slowly opened his eyes. "Renamon?", he whispered. "I can't see good." One of Renamon's hands released its hold on the wall. A small bit of light appeared over her open palm. In the light it cast, she got her first good look at Calumon and gasped. His face was scratched in multiple places. Some of the scratches were fresh but others looked days old. In addition to the scratches there were ugly bruises covering much of his soft white skin and particularly nasty ones around the red crystal on his forehead. His eyes were nearly swollen shut from prolonged crying. Seeing Renamon in the weak but soft light, he began to smile but winced in pain and whimpered softly. "That monster.", Renamon choked out in a soft voice filled with rage. Softening her expression so as not to further upset Calumon, she inched closer and dug her free hand into the material holding him to the wall. "Hold still.", she said softly. She concentrated and her hand began to glow slightly. Beneath her grip, the black substance began to crack and fall away. It was a highly controlled version of her diamond storm attack. It took incredible concentration to so finely focus her power but she was willing to put up with the strain for Calumon. In a moment, he was free and fell limply into her arm. Holding him close, Renamon quickly teleported back to the ground. Rika and Henry rushed up to her. 

"Calumon!", Rika cried, seeing the state he was in. Renamon gently handed Calumon over to Rika who held him against her chest. The rest of his body bore the same cuts and bruises as his face. 

"Here.", Henry said gently, taking off his vest and wrapping it around Calumon. The little digimon smiled slightly in Rika's arms and passed into a gentle sleep. 

"He's going to pay for this." Rika's voice shook with rage. 

"Yes, he is.", Henry replied quietly. 

"Rapid Fire!" Missiles launched from Rapidmon's arm cannons and flew towards Devimon. The winged digimon dodged the projectiles but was caught in the explosion as they detonated. Far from being hurt, he used the shockwave to propel him higher into the air and then swoop down through the resulting cloud of smoke. Unable to see his opponent coming, Rapidmon was caught by surprise as Devimon rocketed out of the smoke cloud and raked his claws across the armored digimon's chest. The claws tore jagged gauges into Rapidmon's armor but did not penetrate the skin beneath. 

Unable to fly, Antylamon was forced to find his own way to reach the high-flying battle. His long arms and legs effortlessly gripped the sides of a nearby building and he scaled in in a matter of seconds. Now slightly above Rapidmon and Devimon, he leapt off the side of the building. "Bunny Blades!" His hands morphed into razor sharp axes and he brought them down with all his strength on Devimon as he fell towards him. Despite the strength behind the blow, Devimon was unaffected and struck Antylamon away. He flipped through the air and landed on the side of a nearby building as though it were a horizontal surface. Rapidmon pressed the attack to give his brother time to regroup. His rockets sent him into a shoulder charge into Devimon's back. The impact threw Devimon forward but he recovered almost instantly. 

"You two are becoming a nuisance.", he growled. 

"Sorry about that.", Rapidmon responded sarcastically. 

"Not yet, but soon.", Devimon snarled. 

Crouching upside down on a nearby building, Antylamon bent his legs and propelled himself off the wall. He cupped his hands and a small ball of blue energy formed in them. "Shockwave Bomber!" Antylamon hurled the energy ball at Devimon were it exploded, releasing a massive wave of force. The shockwave threw the flying demon for a loop. 

Rapidmon released a pair of missiles before Devimon could recover. "Rapid Fire!" The explosion sent Devimon crashing into the side of a building. 

"Shockwave Bomber!" 

"Rapid Fire!" 

Devimon clawed his way out of the hole in the building wall in time to see the dual attacks coming at him. "Oh fu..." Another, even larger explosion blasted Devimon back into the building. Amid the could of dust and shifting rubble, Devimon growled deep in his throat. "That is enough!" He shot out of the building to see Rapidmon and Antylamon waiting for him. The two ultimate digimon attacked at once. 

"Rapid Fire!" 

"Shockwave Bomber!" 

This time Devimon was ready. He held out his hands and the attacks exploded a few feet from him. "Death Wave!" Rapidmon rocketed up and Antylamon skittered across a wall but both were caught in the force of Devimon's wide attack. As the black energy waves touched them, both convulsed in pain. Antylamon lost his grip and fell from the building he had been clinging to and Rapidmon lost control of his rockets and fell like a stone. 

Both digimon crashed to the ground. Willis ran forward to his fallen partners. In the middle of the crater their impact had created, both were unconscious and had reverted to their rookie forms. Willis made his way towards them. He stopped short as Devimon dropped in front of him. 

"You caused me quite a bit of trouble. Allow me to repay the favor." Devimon drew back his claw to gut Willis. 

"Positron Laser!" A beam of white light hit Devimon and threw him back. Willis looked behind him in surprise to see a massive digimon with blue skin clad in black armor with a pair of red wings towering over him. 

"Whoa.", Willis muttered. 

Davis ran up and clapped him on the back. "Relax guy. You earned a break." Ken joined them holding the unconscious but relatively unhurt bodies of Terriermon and Lopmon. "Paildramon mega-digivolved into Imperialdramon fighter mode. It's time for round two."

The digidestined were together again but their digimon were still mostly out of action. Imperialdramon, Angewomon, and Growlmon were the only ones with enough strength to fight. 

Tai had recovered although his leg was injured and he was limping with a make shift crutch made from a piece of wood. But his injuries meant nothing now that he was reunited with Kari. The others had advised him to rest somewhere outside of the battlefield but he refused to leave his sister's side. 

Matt and T.K. had had a joyful reunion but were now prepared to focus on finding a way to defeat Devimon. 

Takato found himself surrounded by his heroes. For him, it was somewhat like living a dream. Even the incredible danger did little to diminish his euphoria. He gladly answered all of Izzy's curious questions about the content of the cartoon which had acquainted him with all of them. 

Angewomon swept by Imperialdramon and fired at Devimon. "Celestial Arrow!" Devimon plucked the arrow out of the air with a flick of his wrist. 

"Please.", he snorted, hurling the arrow back at Angewomon. She cried out as it pierced her stomach. Clutching the protruding shaft, she fell from the air. She hit the ground and reverted to Gatomon. Kari ran forward before Tai could hold her back. Imperialdramon charged at Devimon who ducked behind the huge digimon. Imperialdramon spun in time for Devimon to swing a clawed fist into his chin. Despite their size difference, Imperialdramon was staggered. Imperialdramon staggered back, raising his cannon. "Positron Laser!" Rather than dodge the blast, Devimon stood his ground and the laser energy splashed of an invisible barrier around him. Imperialdramon responded by increasing the intensity of his attack. The energy was rolling off of Devimon's forcefield in waves but the point of impact was drawing closer to Devimon's body. For the first time he showed signs of strain. The previous battles had done little to hurt him, but his strength had been perceptibly diminished. He was strong and fast enough to fly circles around Imperialdramon but in a standoff like this, he was forced to expend his strength reserves. Deciding to take a chance he dropped his shield and was blasted almost a block away by the sudden force of Impeiraldramon's attack. 

Yamaki heard the blast and saw the body of Devimon crash down not far from him. He ducked into an alley and watched in amazement as the very creature which was responsible for city's destruction rise from a smoking hole in the ground. The thing slowly rose to its feet and began to beat its wings. Yamaki stopped from the shadows and pulled the Neutralizer into his hands. "Now you devil..." He stopped short when another of the creatures, this one a veritable giant stomped into view followed by a group of humans accompanied by a number of the smaller digimon. "What?" Yamaki leapt back into the shadows before any of them saw him. "What the blazes is this?!"

Devimon rose from the point of impact and winced. He had actually been hurt. But his gamble had paid off. Taking the hit had expended less energy than continuing to stand up to Imperialdramon's attack. At this rate, he may actually have to fall back. He tested his wings. They were sore but undamaged. He prepared to take to the air but Imperialdramon thundered around the corner of the building closest to him. Imperialdramon pointed his cannon and the barrel began to glow. 

"Fool.", Devimon muttered. 

"Positron La..." 

"Demon Blast!" A storm of green energy flew from his hands and struck Imperialdramon in the chest. Imperialdramon gasped and staggered back. The digidestined behind him scattered as he seemed in danger of falling. 

"You fools!", Devimon bellowed. "Did you truly think you could beat me?! I will destroy you all and both your worlds will crumble before me! Death Wave!" The black energy surrounded Imperialdramon and he fell to one knee. Devimon continued to pour it on. "Fall!" Imperialdramon finally collapsed and reverted to Veemon and Wormmon. Devimon was now considerably weakened. But it didn't matter. The digidestined were finished. In a moment he would absorb their life force and be fully rejuvenated. He stalked towards them and they fell back. "Die!", he cried. 

"No way!" A red blur slammed into him and he hit the ground. Growlmon towered over him. "Leave my friends alone!", he snarled. 

"Pathetic beast!", Devimon snarled and rose to his feet. 

"Get him Growlmon!", yelled Takato. 

Growlmon roared and unleashed a torrent of fire from his mouth. "Pyro Blaster!" The fire swarmed around Devimon. His leather wraps began to smolder and he could actually feel the heat, growing uncomfortably hotter. With a scream he slashed his claws up, striking the underside of Growlmon's head. Growlmon staggered back and Devimon followed up with a blast of energy. Growlmon fell and returned to Guilmon. 

Devimon gasped and rose into the air. His wings felt like lead and they could barely keep him aloft. The battle had left him dangerously weak. Fortunately, there was no one left to oppose him. "Now you're mine!"

"No!" 

Devimon looked down to see Calumon standing in front of him. Rika, Renamon, Henry, and Terriermon had joined the group. Now they were all together and Calumon stood at the head of the group staring up defiantly. "You're a bad digimon!" 

Devimon laughed. "Quite right, my little friend. And your power will help me to destroy your pathetic human friends and the miserable digimon who were foolish enough to join them." 

Calumon clenched his little fists. "No! I won't let you hurt them!" 

"And what do you intend to do, you little fool?" 

Calumon glanced at Rika who stood next to him protectively. "You want my power? Well here it is!"

The little digimon began to glow and rise into the air. He reached within himself for that warmth he always felt when one of the digimon near him changed. Somewhere, inside he felt the power and slowly drew it out. His crystal began to glow and he could feel the power building. "This is for my friends. This is for everyone." The digidestined looked in amazement as their digivices began to glow. The wounded digimon began to glow as well, their strength returning. Calumon was now enveloped in a brilliant white light. The crystal on his forehead shone like a beacon in the sky. 

"He's doing it.", Henry breathed. 

"Yes.", Rika said softly. 

Calumon felt the power grow so strong he didn't think he could hold it in anymore. So he simply let it go. "Shining Digivolution!" Rays of light fired in every direction. The humans below could only stare in awe. The digimon could do slightly more than that.

"Agumon warp-digivolve to...!" Agumon morphed into his mega form, an orange skinned warrior clad in gold and silver armor. "Wargreymon!"  
"Gabumon warp-digivolve to...!" Gabumon's mega was a huge metallic wolf with small golden wings. "Metalgarurumon!"

"Patamon warp-digivolve to...!" The angelic mega was sheathed in blue and silver armor covered in gold designs. Ten golden wings grew from his back. "Seraphimon!"

"Gatomon warp-digivolve to...!" Gatomon's mega evolution was a pink dragon with a dozen small wings. "Magnadramon!"

"Biyomon digivolve to...Birdramon!" 

"Birdramon digivolve to...Garudamon!"

"Tentomon digivolve to...Kabuterimon!" 

"Kabuterimon digivolve to...Megakabuterimon!" 

"Gomamon digivolve to...Ikakumon!" 

"Ikakumon digivolve to...Zudomon!"

"Palmon digivolve to...Togemon!" 

"Togemon digivolve to...Lillymon!"

"Veemon digivolve to...Exveemon!"

"Wormmon digivolve to...Stingmon!"

"Exveemon!" 

"Stingmon!" 

"DNA digivolve to...Paildramon!" 

"Paildramon mega-digivolve to...Imperialdramon!" 

"Imperialdramon mode change to...Imperialdramon Fighter Mode!"

"Hawkmon digivolve to...Aquillamon!"

"Armadillomon digivolve to...Ankylomon!" 

Yolei and Cody looked in surprise as their digivices continued to glow. "What's going on?", Yolei asked. 

"Yolei, I feel very strange.", Aquillamon moaned. 

Ankylomon began to tremble. "I feel it too." 

Both champions began to glow. Yolei and Cody's digivices erupted in light and threw them back. The glows surrounding Aquillamon and Ankylomon intensified and then suddenly disappeared. Both digimon passed out and reverted to their rookie forms. "What the heck was that?!", Yolei cried. 

"I...I have no idea.", Cody replied.

"Terriermon digivolve to...Gargomon!" 

"Gargomon digivolve to...Rapidmon!"

"Lopmon digivolve to...Turuiemon!" 

"Turuiemon digivolve to...Antylamon!"

"Guilmon digivolve to...Growlmon!"

"Renamon digivolve to...Kyubimon!"

"Terriermon digivolve to...Gargomon!"

The three tamers stood ready by their champion digimon. "Um...Takato. I feel funny. Kind of tingly.", Growlmon said uncertainly. 

Takato looked at Growlmon closely. "You look okay." 

"I believe I am feeling the same thing.", Kyubimon remarked. 

"Yeah.", Gargomon agreed. "It's like I have a whole bunch of extra energy." Henry looked at his digivice thoughtfully. "Calumon's power seems to be allowing all of our digimon to reach their full evolutionary potential. I wonder..." "Could they be ready to digivolve to ultimate?", Rika asked. 

"It's worth a try.", Henry replied. 

"Let's do it!", Takato cried. 

"Here goes nothing.", Rika said. 

The three tamers each pulled out a card. In their hands the cards began to glow with a blue light. "Well that's a good sign.", Henry said. 

"You ready boy?", Takato asked Growlmon. The large red lizard nodded. Kyubimon and Gargomon responded in kind. 

"All right." Together the three cards slashed through their digivices. "Digi-modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"

****

"M.A.T.R.I.X. D.I.G.I.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N." 

__

"Growlmon digivolve to...!" Growlmon's arms and upper body were covered by black, red, and silver armor. Huge blades were attached to the sides of his arms. A pair of rockets extended back from his shoulders. A pair of gun barrels protruded from his chest. "Wargrowlmon!"

"Kyubimon digivolve to...!" Kyubimon retained her fox-like face but her body became more humanoid. She was covered by a white robe and her hands were hidden beneath its long sleeves. A yin-yang symbol was emblazoned across her chest. "Taomon!"

"Gargomon digivolve to...!" The ultimate form of Henry's Terriermon was nearly identical to that of Willis'. Instead of gold, his armor was a deep shade of green. "Rapidmon!"

Devimon now stared down a small army of digimon, all at the ultimate or mega level. His strength was nearly gone but rather than back down he began to laugh. At the sound of his ghoulish laughter, the digidestined drew back slightly. "You little fool!", Devimon cried, pointing at Calumon who had collapsed in Rika's arms. "You've unleashed your power to help your friends, but you have also given me exactly what I wanted. I have absorbed your evolutionary energy as well and now there is nothing to stop me from becoming a dark god!" Devimon's body began to radiate dark energy. "Devimon digivolve to...!"

Devimon rose into the air and his eyes glowed. His body swelled and his leather wrappings tore and fell away. Fully revealed, his pale skin bulged obscenely as if something beneath his skin was fighting to be released. And then, he screamed. Wracked in pain, Devimon clutched his sides and fell from the sky in agony. Stretched to the bursting point, his skin exploded as rays of white light tore outward from within him. 

A bloody ruin, his skin hanging from his body in tatters, Devimon gasped painfully and looked up through bleary eyes. "No.", he choked. "This can't be. What happened? How did they beat me?" 

"They didn't have to. You beat yourself." 

Devimon struggled to raise his head and found Gennai looking down at him. "In your haste to achieve the power you so greatly desire, you proved your own undoing." Devimon struggled to understand what was being said to him. His pain wracked mind tried to fight through the haze covering it. "When you were reborn in this world, you were bound to the physical laws which govern it. You bound yourself to a human partner. And, in this reality a digimon who is partnered with a human cannot digivolve without that human. Your ability to digivolve was tied to that poor fool you so callously slaughtered. You absorbed Calumon's power but your body was unable to digivolve so that power had nowhere to go. The result was...well I think you get the point." The digidestined looked in wonder at the foe who had beaten them so completely. Devimon was little more than shuddering wreck. Tai stepped forward.

"But, if you knew that Devimon wouldn't be able to digivolve, why did you tell us that our top priority was to keep Devimon away from Calumon.", Tai asked. 

Gennai stepped delicately around Devimon's body. "Devimon only absorbed a portion of Calumon's energy, just as the rest of you did. If he had been able to take all of the evolutionary power within Calumon, even I don't know for sure what the results would have been. With that much power, perhaps he would have been able to digivolve. Or perhaps the energy would have turned inward leaving in his current form but magnifying his power exponentially. And even if he hadn't gotten Calumon's power, he would still have absorbed the lives of every person in this city. That alone would have given him the power to begin the decimation of the rest of this world. In any case, Devimon needed to be stopped. And I'd say you all did a fine job of wearing him down until his own foolishness did him in." 

"So it's over?", Takato asked. 

"No!" Devimon rose to his feet. He was swaying, but his eyes burned with fury. "I still have a enough strength to drain the life force of the other captive humans. Their lives will give me new strength and then..." 

"Not a chance.", Tai said softly. "Take him!" 

The digimon surged forward. Wargrowlmon's blades glowed and he slashed then across Devimon's chest. "Plasma Blade!" Devimon screamed in pain and clutched the fresh wound. 

Taomon hovered in the air behind him. "Thousand Spells!" Dozens of paper cards marked with strange symbols poured from the opening of her sleeves. They struck Devimon in the back and exploded against him. The impact threw him forward, straight into Rapidmon. 

"And here I was afraid I wouldn't get a chance to give this new body a test run. Tri Beam!" A triangular beam of green energy fired from Rapidmon's body and washed over Devimon. He fell once again but still refused to give up. Once more he began to rise. 

"Finish him!", Tai cried. 

A ball of red energy formed in Wargreymon's hands and he hurled it at Devimon. "Terra Force!" 

A gout of blue flame erupted from Metalgarurumon's mouth. "Metal Wolf Claw!" 

A blaze of green fire leapt out of Magnadramon's open mouth. "Dragon Fire!" Seven balls of glowing energy fired from Seraphimon's outstretched hands. "Seven Heavens!" 

"Horn Buster!" 

"Wing Blade!" 

"Vulcans' Hammer!" 

"Flower Cannon!" 

"Rapid Fire!" 

"Shockwave Bomber!" 

"Positron Laser!" 

The attacks rained down on Devimon. The force of the explosion rocked the street. For several tense moments, the Digidestined and Tamers waited for the smoke to clear. When they were finally able to see through the haze, they could make out Devimon's battered from lying prone of the ground. The humans all breathed a collective sigh of relief. 

Standing near them, Gennai shook his head. "Amazing. Despite all the damage he's taken, his physical form remains intact. Although, at this point there is little left holding him together. Now that his power is fully drained, I'll take him back to the digital world so I can find a way to safely destroy him." 

"Allow me." Yamaki stepped from the shadows with the neutralizer in his arms. He had watched the battle as it unfolded before him with a kind of morbid fascination. The black one, the one who had done this to the city, had fought with the others and seemingly won. Then, that small white one had begun to glow and he seemed to give strength to the others. Yamaki had no idea why the other digimon were fighting the black one. Perhaps they wanted the city for themselves. Or perhaps these things were simply incapable of anything besides mindless violence. The humans who seemed to be with the digimon were a puzzle to him. Were the monsters controlling them, or were they simply foolish enough to believe that the creatures were their allies. In the end it hardly mattered. Yamaki would take personal vengeance on the one who had defiles his city. Then he would destroy the other ones to make sure that they could cause no more damage to the city or the rest of the world.

"Who the heck is this guy?", Takato asked incredulously. 

"And why the hell is he wearing sunglasses in this gloom?", said Rika sarcastically. 

"Watch your mouth little girl!", snapped Yamaki. "I'll deal with the rest of you as soon as I take care of this." He pointed at Devimon and leveled the barrel of the neutralizer at the broken demon. 

Gennai sprang towards Yamaki. "No you fool! Don't..." 

Yamaki pulled the trigger. A green beam fired from the neutralizer and hit Devimon. 

For a moment nothing happened, and then Devimon's body simply discorporated. Yamaki smiled grimly and shouldered the gun. "Well that worked extremely well." Gennai grabbed Yamaki and shook him violently. "You idiot! You have no idea what you've done!" 

Yamaki growled and forced Gennai off of him. "I know exactly what I did. I destroyed a monster." He swung around and pointed the neutralizer at Wargrowlmon. "And I've just begun." 

"No!" Takato rushed between Yamaki and Wargrowlmon. Henry, Tai, and Kari joined his human shield. 

Yamaki grinned and simply pointed over their heads at the towering digimon. He was suddenly thrown off of his feet and the ground beneath them began to shake violently. "What the blazes!?", he yelled. 

All over the city, the streets cracked open. From the jagged fissures, geysers of darkness shot into the sky. The digidestined looked around themselves in horror. A crack down the middle of the street they stood on forced them into several smaller groups. 

"What is it?!", yelled Tai. 

"I tried to stop him!", yelled Gennai. "That weapon destroyed Devimon's body but all he did was unleash the immense evil essence contained within Devimon. Without a physical form to hold it in check..." 

"We're dead.", finished Tai. 

A tendril shot from the could of darkness gathering over them straight at Tai. Wargreymon leapt into its path and it splashed against his chest. The mega digimon screamed in pain and fell to the ground. His chest armor had disintegrated where the darkness had touched it and the edges of the hole were still sizzling and slowly evaporating. The orange skin beneath the armor was scarred and blistered. "Wargreymon!", Tai cried.

Matt and Metalgarurumon were backed against the side of a building as a mass of the darkness slowly drifted towards them. "Stay behind me Matt!", Metalgarurumon snarled. "Ice Wolf Bite!" Dozens of missiles launched from his armor. Instead of doing any damage they simply shot through the ethereal cloud and detonated against the building across the street. "Matt! Get on my back!" Matt scrambled to obey. The large metal wolf spun and crouched. His powerful legs tensed and then released, shooting him upward. Digging his razor sharp claws into the side of the brick building, Metalgarurumon galloped straight up the side of the building with Matt hanging desperately from his neck. Below them the darkness washed over the area where they had been standing and proceeded to spread up the side of the building after them.

Henry and Willis had been forced together as the darkness closed in around them. "Any ideas?", Willis asked. 

"Let me get back to you.", Henry replied. 

From above them twin voices called out, "Rapid Fire!" Four missiles struck down from the sky into the cloud of darkness. The explosions caused the darkness to spread and dissipate for a moment but it reformed in an instant. The twin Rapidmon swept down and scooped their respective partners off the ground. They rocketed back up a moment before the darkness closed over the area where they had been. As they shot up, they passed Antylamon who was crouched on the side of the building near them. 

As the darkness followed them up, he flung his arms forward releasing a sphere of blue energy. "Shockwave Bomber!" The shockwave forced the dark cloud down for a moment and bought them a few extra seconds. 

"Kari! Stay close to me!" T.K. stood protectively in front of Kari as half a dozen tendrils of darkness crept towards them. 

"Believe me. I'm not going anywhere!", Kari responded. Indeed, she had little choice as they were forced back to avoid the deadly tentacles. 

"Heaven's Sword!" Seraphimon flew in front of them, swinging a silver blade through one of the tendrils. Rather than do any damage, the sword passed through it trailing wisps of darkness. Seraphimon looked in shock as the part of the blade which had touched the darkness disintegrated, leaving only half a blade left in his hands. Seraphimon let the hilt fall from his hand and swung a glowing hand through the edge of the closest tentacle. Where his hand touched it, the darkness was cleaved. The part of the tentacle he had sheared off fell and disappeared. But the tentacle kept coming. "Seven Heavens!" The balls of light flew from Seraphimon's hands and exploded inside the cloud the tentacles had grown from. Large portions of the darkness were destroyed, but the empty areas filled in quickly. "Magnadramon! Get them out of here!" 

The pink dragon flew down and landed among them. Kari and T.K. got on her back and she flew up and away, dodging through the quickly closing gaps in the darkness overhead. 

"What about Seraphimon!?", T.K. cried, looking back over his shoulder. 

"He'll be right behind us as soon as he's sure you're safe.", Magnadramon replied. Sure enough, Seraphimon fended off the darkness for a moment longer and then took to the sky after them. But the darkness, which continued to spew from beneath the ground had closed completely around him. Pausing only for a moment, Seraphimon concentrated and his body began to glow. He shot straight up, cutting a path through the darkness until he burst through the top of it into clear sky. 

"Talisman of Light!" A glowing symbol appeared in the air in front of Taomon and released a brilliant burst of light driving back the darkness which advanced on her and Rika. Calumon lay, cradled in Rika's arms, half-conscious. "Thousand Spells!" Taomon's cards exploded in the path of the oncoming darkness, but the small detonations did nothing to stop it. "Light is the only thing which seems to stop it! But even that only slows it down for a second!", Taomon yelled to Rika. 

"Great! So keep lighting it up!" 

"There's just too much of it! It's everywhere." Rika and Taomon kept backing up until Rika brushed against the cloud behind her. She cried out and sprang away but not before the sleeve of her t-shirt was burned away and the skin on her arm bore a nasty burn mark. Clutching her hurt arm and keeping a firm hold on Calumon, Rika stumbled and bumped into Taomon. "Stay close to me Rika!" Taomon raised her arms. "Talisman Spell!" A dome of light formed around Taomon and Rika. The darkness evaporated as it touched the edges of the dome but it continued to press in. Taomon grunted and her face showed signs of strain. 

"Taomon, what's wrong?", Rika asked with concern. 

"It's feeding off of my shield, draining my energy. I can't keep it up for long." Taomon gasped and the dome flickered. "I've got to get us out of here!" The dome began to rise, forming into a sphere as it left the ground. Taomon was visibly weakened and the bubble rose slowly. The had only risen a few yards when their ascent stopped and the light forming the edges of the sphere began to fade. "I can't hold out Rika.", Taomon gasped. Small cracks began to form in their shield and wisps of darkness began to leak in. 

"Heads up!" A flaming bird tore down from above cutting a path through the darkness. Immediately behind it was Garudamon with Sora on her back. 

"Hold on!" Garudamon's claws gripped the bubble holding Taomon and Rika. "Are you two all right?", Sora called. 

"Just get us out of here.", Rika said. 

Garudamon looked skyward but the sky overhead was already blacked out. "Wing Blade!" Another flaming bird erupted from Garudamon's wings and cleared the way above them. Garudamon shot up with the darkness right behind them. 

Separated from the others by the fissuring ground and the rapidly expanding darkness, Yolei and Cody stood over their fallen digimon partners. If there was any sentience in the clouds of darkness it seemed to be ignoring them. Nevertheless, the entire area was quickly filling up and they had no place to go. They were surrounded and the darkness was slowly closing in. 

"Cody, we're trapped!", Yolei said in despair. 

"We have to stay calm.", Cody replied, but his voice cracked. 

Without warning one of the clouds began moving towards them quickly. A large tendril shot out and would have enveloped them, but a green ray cut through the surrounding cloud and cleaved the tentacle before it could touch them. 

"What?", Cody stammered. 

Another green blast cut through the cloud and through the resulting path came Yamaki. 

"You!?", Yolei cried. 

"Some part of this stuff is digital matter. The neutralizer can cut through it.", Yamaki replied, adjusting a dial on the side of his weapon. "You two stay close to me. I'll clear a path." Yolei and Cody nodded and lifted the prone forms of Hawkmon and Armadillomon into their arms. Yamaki glanced back. "Leave those things. We need to move quickly." 

"We're not going anywhere without them!", Cody cried. 

"We'll stay here and die before we'll leave them behind.", Yolei said. 

Yamaki scowled, then turned away. "Fine. I have no sympathy for traitors." He aimed the neutralizer at the advancing wall of darkness and prepared to fire. From his side, a tendril shot from the blackness and cut through Yamaki's gun. Yamaki gaped in horror as the remains of the weapon sparked and fizzled in his hands. He dropped it numbly and stared as the darkness came over him. 

"Positron Laser!" A wide blast of energy cut a hole right through the darkness. Yamaki looked up in disbelief as Imperialdramon charged into the clear space around them. His armor war smoking and melted in many places but still intact. Ken and Davis crawled out from under the armor plates over his shoulders. 

"All aboard!", Davis called. The darkness came towards them again and Imperialdramon's laser drove it back once again. Davis helped Cody and Armadillomon into Imperialdramon's outstretched hand. After embracing for a moment, Ken and Yolei followed them with Hawkmon in tow. 

Davis looked at Yamaki who was still staring ahead dumbly. "You coming?", he demanded. For a moment, Yamaki looked at him with confusion, then in a seeming trance he climbed into Imperialdramon's hand with the others. 

"Positron Laser!" Imperialdramon fired again and charged into the resulting gap. 

"This doesn't look good Joe." 

"It will be all right, Mimi." 

"Oh Joe, I love you." 

"I love you too." 

"Hold me." 

"Forever." 

"Could you two focus for a second?!" 

Mimi and Joe blinked and looked up at Zudomon, who was staring at them incredulously. "I know we're in trouble, but you guys are not helping with all the melodrama here!" 

"Flower Cannon!" Lillymon's energy bursts kept the darkness back but it was steadily gaining ground on them. 

"Everyone stay close! I've got an idea!", Zudomon called. "Vulcans' Hammer!" Zudomon's hammer swung into the ground and sent a shockwave through the ground. It struck the building across the street, causing it to collapse. The massive force of the collapsing building dispersed the darkness in their immediate area. Zudomon used his shell to shield Joe, Mimi, and Lillymon from the flying debris. 

"Well that bought us a few minutes.", Joe said. "But that stuff is already moving back in and we're fresh out of buildings to drop on it." 

"Need a lift?" Megakabuterimon dropped out of the sky. 

"Hurry up!", called Izzy from his partner's back. Mimi, Joe, and Lillymon scrambled onto Megakabuterimon's back. 

"What about Zudomon?", Joe asked. 

Megakabuterimon grabbed onto one of the spikes on Zudomon's shell. "Oof! What'd you have for breakfast?" Megakabuterimon rose into the sky pulling Zudomon with him. He rose slowly at first but picked up speed quickly. Below, the darkness had completely washed over the rubble of the felled building. 

"This has been a rough week.", complained Takato. 

"At least you didn't have to spent half of it chained up underground Takatomon.", replied Wargrowlmon. 

"Good point." 

"Can we get out of here now?", Wargrowlmon asked. 

"As soon as we're sure the others have gotten away safely. 

Together they were slowly making their way through the darkness covering the ground. Using his plasma blade attack, Wargrowlmon's glowing claws cut through the darkness ahead of them. When the clouds of darkness threatened to overtake them from behind, he used a blast of red energy from his chest cannons to clear the way. "Atomic Blaster!" 

Ahead, they could make out something behind the wall of darkness. With a final slash of his claws, Wargrowlmon cut into a clear area. Inside, Tai and a severely wounded Wargreymon were standing helpless against the oncoming darkness. "I can't believe we're saving Tai! This is so cool!", Takato said to Wargrowlmon. 

"I didn't notice it was getting cold Takatomon.", Growlmon responded. 

Tai looked up in surprise and Takato and Wargrowlmon burst through the wall of darkness. "Have no fear! Takato the master tamer is here!" 

"Wargreymon is hurt. Do you have any way to get out of here?" 

"No problem! Okay Wargrowlmon. Blasters to full power!" 

"You got it Takatomon!" Wargrowlmon leaned back and pointed his cannons skyward. "Atomic Blaster!" Twin beams of red energy cut through the darkness above leaving a clear path up. 

"Let's go!", Takato cried. 

"Can you fly?", Tai asked Wargreymon anxiously. 

"I'll manage.", Wargreymon groaned. Holding Tai carefully in his clawed gauntlet, Wargreymon rose into the sky and then took off through the pathway Wargrowlmon had made. His thrusters firing, Wargrowlmon followed right behind. Twice, he fired his atomic blasters again to keep the way clear and then both digimon burst through the top of the darkness cloud. 

A few moments later, Imperialdramon rocketed up into clear air. Soon, all of the digidestined and Tamers had gathered in the sky near the top of the dome covering the city. Those who could not fly under their own power stood on a circular platform created by Taomon. None of then had seen Gennai make his way up, but he now stood among them. Yamaki stood on the platform apart from the others who paid him little attention. He stared down at the city and fiddled with his lighter. Below, the entire city, except for the tops of the tallest buildings, was covered by the black cloud. 

"Well now what?", Davis asked, rather unnecessarily. 

"We have to figure out a way to stop this stuff before it reaches all those people underground.", Henry responded. 

Panic flashed across Rika's face. "We have to do something now!" 

"We need light.", Tai said slowly. 

"But none of our digimon can generate enough light to destroy it all.", T.K. replied. 

"So we need another source. But what?", Cody said. 

Kari lookup upward thoughtfully for a moment. "What time is it?", she asked. Takato looked at his watch. "About 1:30 in the afternoon." 

Izzy followed Kari's gaze and understanding filled his expression. "The sun! If we can destroy the dome..." 

"The sun will take care of this stuff for us!", Henry finished. 

"What are we waiting for? Let's do it!", Rika cried. 

"Without Devimon's consciousness to hold it together, the dome won't regenerate.", Ken said with excitement. 

"Everyone spread out! Let's go!", Tai shouted. 

The digidestined and Tamers took to the air and spread out across the city. Taomon's platform split into several sections to carry the digimon who couldn't fly. Within minutes they hovered in the sky across the enclosed city. At nearly the same time they attacked. 

"Terra Force!" 

"Metal Wolf Claw!" 

"Atomic Blaster!" 

"Thousand Spells!" 

"Tri Beam!" 

"Seven Heavens!" 

"Dragon Fire!" 

"Wing Blade!" 

"Flower Cannon!" 

"Vulcans' Hammer!" 

"Horn Buster!" 

"Rapid Fire!" 

"Shockwave Bomber!" 

"Positron Laser!"

Across the city, explosions rocked the dome. No longer capable of regenerating, it cracked apart easily under the force of their attacks. Huge pieces were destroyed. Each hole released a wide ray of afternoon sunlight into the darkness below. Wherever the sun touched, the darkness was instantly boiled away. To the humans and digimon above it seemed as though the darkness was attempting to hide from the light. The massive cloud seemed to compress itself and draw away from the areas touched by the light, like a frightened animal. But it couldn't hide for long. Within moments, the holes created by the digidestined started a chain reaction. Cracks spread rapidly across the dome, widening the holes. and causing dozens of new ones to form. By the time the digimon and their human partners had regrouped near what was once the top of the dome, the dark ceiling above had nearly completely crumbled away and now the degeneration was spreading down the sides of the dome. The sudden bombardment of light wrought havoc on the darkness. With incredible speed the formless black mass withdrew into the center of the city, losing more of it's mass every second. What was left of the darkness retreated into the remains of Devimon's tower. 

Above the Digidestined and tamers waited anxiously. "So now what?", Davis asked. The answer came a moment later when the tower exploding releasing a sphere comprising the last of the darkness which shot towards them like a cannonball. As it flew through the sky, the black projectile lost more and more of it's mass but it became clear than it would reach them before it was rendered completely insubstantial by the deadly sun around it. 

T.K. stared at the deadly force coming at them and for a moment he could see the grinning visage of Devimon reflected it it's obsidian surface. "No.", he said calmly. "Not this time." 

Seraphimon raised his hands. "Now it ends. Light of Hope!" A brilliant beam of light fired from his hands and struck the ball of darkness when it was only a few feet away. The light tore through it and in an instant there was nothing left but a few wisps of fading shadows. 

"It's finally over.", Gennai whispered in relief. 

For a moment there was complete silence as if all present were afraid to say anything. Then, Calumon, with his large eyes shining, laughed out loud. "Hooray!" Renamon smiled. "I couldn't have said it any better."

After landing on a rooftop, and spending several minutes celebrating, the conquering heroes began to notice that, with the dome gone, people were flooding into the city. Leading the largest groups were military vehicles and police cars. 

"I guess we'd better get down there.", Takato said. 

"I agree, but it might not be such a good idea to show ourselves with our digimon.", Izzy replied. "I would imagine that Mr. Yamaki is not the only person who may a bear a grudge against anyone not obviously human as a result of all this." At this Izzy indicated Yamaki, who looked at him briefly and then turned away. 

"Izzy's right.", Tai said. "The last thing we need is to deal with an angry mob." Gennai stepped forward. "I will take Renamon, Guilmon and Terriermon to their respective homes, and then return with the others to the digital world. You can all alert me when you are ready to come home." 

Renamon bent over to whisper something in Rika's ear. Rika smiled and nodded. Renamon faded from sight. "Renamon is going to get home on her own.", Rika said. Gennai spread his arms and a large glowing portal formed in the air in front of them. After saying some amicable goodbyes, the digimon followed Gennai into the portal which closed behind him.

By the time the collection of young people had made their way down to the street, it was swarming with police, soldiers, and reporters. There was so much commotion, that few noticed them. None of them noticed when Yamaki slunk off on his own. 

"We have to make sure that the people Devimon captured are all right.", Rika insisted. Takato and Henry quickly agreed. With the three tamers leading the way, they all made their way to the tunnel entrance that Gennai had shown them before. 

Upon arriving, they found the last of the former captives making their way out of the tunnel to join the large crowd gathered outside. Many of the people were being interviewed by reporters or answering questions for the police or military. Takato, Rika, and Henry frantically surveyed the crowd. 

Henry was the first to spot his parents, brothers, and sisters. His father was talking to one of the soldiers. Henry raced towards them. A seven year old girl clinging to Henry's mother's leg saw him first. "Henwy!", she cried with joy. The rest of Henry's family noticed him a moment later. There was much rejoicing as they all spent several minutes taking turns hugging him. 

"Rika! Thank God!" Rika turned in time to see her grandmother wrap her in a tight embrace. Rika's mother, a young blonde woman, was only a few steps behind. 

"Oh Rika. I'm so glad you're okay. It took a moment, and then Rika's eyes released a flood of tears. She gratefully hung onto the two women and released the emotions she had been holding inside since long before the most recent adventure had begun. 

Takato looked around anxiously trying to find his own family among the crowd. For several minutes his head swiveled in all directions and then he turned to the digidestined with a look of panic on his face. "I don't see them!", he cried. 

T.K. looked thoughtful for a moment. He suddenly gasped and slapped his forehead. "Takato! I think that we met your parents!" Takato looked at him with confusion. 

"Of course.", Kari said. "That couple in the bakery." 

Takato looked at her in shock. "Bakery? You saw them? When? Are they okay?" 

"Shortly after we arrived here. We found your parents and a young girl hiding in their bakery. They said their son's name was Takato.", Ken explained. 

"I can't believe I forgot about that!", Davis said with a groan. 

"Takato!" Takato turned to see his parents running towards him from farther down the street. He ran to meet them and was swept of his feet as his dad grabbed him. "Takato!", he said with tears in his eyes. Takato was also beginning to mist up. "I'm so glad you guys are all right.", Takato cried. 

"Where were you son?" Thinking quickly Takato replied. "I was in the park, and one of those monsters grabbed me. That's the last thing I remember before I woke up with everyone else in the tunnel." 

After quite a bit more hugging and crying, Takato's parents finally set him down. No sooner did his feet touch the ground when he was spun around by a small hand on his shoulder. A girl Takato's age grabbed his head and pressed her lips to his. When she let him go a moment later, his face was a deep shade of crimson. "Jeri!", he cried. Jeri just wrapped her arms around him. Takato blushed even deeper, and looked over Jeri's shoulder at his mother and father who were looking at him with raised eyebrows. A sheepish grin was his only response. 

It was much later, that the tamers were finally able to extricate themselves from their families and rejoin the digidestined. Now they stood around on the sidewalk, out of the way of the still present crowds of press and law enforcement officials. 

"I guess it would be something of an understatement if we told you we were grateful for all your help.", Henry said. 

"Don't worry about it. You'd have done the same for us.", Davis replied with a grin. 

"I still can't believe I got to meet you guys. I've dreamed about this for, like forever.", Takato said to Tai. 

Tai smiled and shook Takato's hand. "Believe me, it was an honor to meet you guys too.", he said. 

"Here's a little something that might help you in the future.", Izzy said. He connected his laptop to Henry's digivice. 

"What's that?", Henry asked. 

"I'm downloading the contents of my digimon analyzer into your...D-power, right? Hopefully, it will come in handy some day." 

"Here." 

Davis looked quizzically at the small, flat object Rika handed him. 

"It's a Veemon card.", she said in answer to his silent question. Davis' grin spread from ear to ear. 

"Hey, thanks. Wait'll I show this to Veemon. I wish I had something to give you." 

Rika looked at him critically for a moment. Then she darted forward and touched her lips to his. She drew back immediately and turned away. "Thanks.", she said, and walked away. 

Davis stood still for a moment. "Huh.", he murmured. 

Finally, the two groups stood facing each other. Tai once more shook Takato's hand. "I guess we have to be going." 

"I've sent Gennai an e-mail.", Izzy said. "The portal home will be opening in that alley across the street in a minute." 

After a few more exchanged words of goodbye the digidestined moved to cross the street. Davis looked back and gave Takato a thumbs up. "Cool goggles dude." Takato grinned back. Davis glanced at Rika who gave him a smirk. Henry and Willis exchanged bows. 

"Will we ever see you guys again?", Takato called when they were almost across the street. 

Tai just smiled. "You never know." 

The digidestined entered the alley and with a flash of light, they were gone. The three tamers stood looking after them. 

"Wow.", Takato said. 

"You said it.", Henry replied. 

Rika rolled her eyes. "C'mon. Let's go home."

* * *

"None of this should have happened.", Gennai said to someone unseen. "Those people suffered needlessly. And worse still, this has all caused those children to develop in ways they shouldn't have for some time. They all have a very specific destiny in store for them, and this was not part of it. And the Tamers weren't the only ones unduly affected. Yamaki has a pivotal role to play in the events to come, and that has been tampered with as well. Calumon has a long way to go before he learns the truth about his abilities. To say nothing of the ramifications for the people of that city as well as that entire world. I don't think we have much of a choice." For a moment, he turned his head to listen to a voice only he could hear. "You'll take care of it then? I agree. It's for the best." Again he listened to his unseen companion. "I don't think there's any need for that. If anything, the digidestined have only been strengthened by this experience." Gennai became somber for a moment. "Although I fear it will help them little in what is to come. No, there's no need to change their memories in any way. The barriers are already repairing themselves. Their knowledge of this other reality will not hurt them in any way. The damage in purely one sided." He listened once more and then nodded in satisfaction. He then turned and went on his way.

* * * 

The citizens of Shinjuku woke up the next day and went about their business. The events of the past week had vanished from their memories. The damage done to their homes and buildings was gone. All traces of Devimon's rampage were erased. Not only were the results of Devimon's actions gone, they had never happened. Time had been reset to the beginning of the day when a boy named Jack had been contacted by a voice from his videogame. And it was not just Shinjuku. The entire world had been similarly affected. Life would go on with no knowledge of the tragedy, which as far as they were concerned, had never happened.

There were only three people on the planet who woke up that day with a vague feeling that something was missing. But by the time they had gotten out of bed and eaten breakfast, that feeling was gone and forgotten. The trials they had endured, the victories and defeats, were no longer a part of them. Whether that was for better or worse would remain to be seen.

For the digidestined, life returned to business as usual. Some of them would take more from the adventures of the last few days than others. For T.K., the closure he had gained from knowing that he had defeated his greatest enemy once and for all gave him a sense of ease that he had never realized he had been without. For Ken, it was one more disaster that he could feel responsible for. One more thing that would drive him to be a better person. Izzy made a mental promise to spent his next bit of free time going over the new entries in his digimon analyzer, especially the one for a red lizard whose origins had particularly intrigued him. Tai spent that morning on the phone trying to explain to Lori why he had ditched her last night. Even as he listened to her angry voice, he smiled at the Greymon action figure which now graced his desk. Davis and Veemon made a bowl of popcorn and spent the afternoon watching the Digimon : Season One DVD which he had found in the rubble of a video store. "I can't believe they screwed up Tai's hair like that!", he said.

And in another plane of reality, beyond any earth, beyond the digital world, a dark shadow rose from the depths of a black ocean. With red eyes, it glared through the many barriers which separated its world from all others. Its gaze came to rest on a young woman named Kari Kamiya whose destiny was about to be realized. And, throwing back its head, it laughed, long and hard.

End 

So that's it. The end of this series will lead directly into my nest series of fics; Digimon Season 2.5. 

In case you wondered, my plan is to write a few filler stories which will deal with a few of the plot threads left over from this story namely Willis' crest, and Armadillomon and Hawkmon's inability to digivolve to ultimate. 

Please let me know what you think.

Jason


End file.
